Unnatural
by LostTranslation
Summary: Sort of like Dark Visions except with a few different twists... First chap is just a prologue...
1. Chapter 1

Silence filled the air. It wasn't just a silence; it was an angry silence, and the air we were breathing? Yeah, it was really tension. Of course, just like any other mother and daughter, the tension was caused by some stupid fight. The same stupid fight we've had for seven years, to be exact. This time, though, it ended with a threat and it was in public.

To be honest, I don't even remember how it exactly started. All I know is that it ended with my father and how he left us, along with the reason why. Most people think he left because he wanted to be with a younger woman, but my mom and I know the truth; he didn't want t a freak as a child. He himself told us that the day he left, honest to God. That was also the day my mom and I started to hate each other.

Our fight began right in the commons area at school, where all the parents who had shown up for parent/ teacher conferences were sitting. Apparently, my mom had been upset because I talked back to all my teachers –well, except my music teacher, who is the only one of my teachers who doesn't bitch to me about my social life. In other words, I pretty much got bad reports all around.

"Why can't you just keep your mouth shut?" my mom hissed at me as we were on our way out. "You don't want to be attracting any attention. Do you really want to people to know how much of a freak you are?"

I, of course, stopped walking and turned to face her. "They're teachers. If they don't want me setting them straight then shouldn't bait me."

Those sentences turned from teachers to father and back to him leaving and… yeah. It wasn't pretty.

The last thing my mom said was, "I'd rather burn you to death myself than to let everyone see how much of a freak you are." I must say that that last line killed me inside, making my body close up and want to lose the world.

She was the one that made me wear colored contacts to cover up my unusual eyes; she was the one who taunted me about what my father said; she blamed me for everything bad in her life. The sad thing was that I could never tell if she was doing it intentionally or not.

As soon as we got home, I headed for my room.

"Don't you walk away from me," my mom yelled furiously. "We're not done talking!"

"Go to hell," I yelled back as I slammed my door shut and locked it. My mom didn't seem to get that our little conversation had ended. No way was I talking to her.

In fact, come tonight, I wasn't ever going to have to talk to her. I wasn't even going to be here. As soon as her head hit the pillow, I was gone, out the window, out of here.

Of course…. It didn't exactly happen the way I planned.

I had emptied my book bag and stuffed it with clothes, money, and food.

I was trying to get over being nervous. Don't get me wrong. I was excited too, but I was worried about a neighbor seeing me and calling my mom before I had even gotten a block away. That's why I packed a lot of black. As a matter of fact, I was dressed in black from head to toe –black gym shoes, black tank with black jean jacket over it, and black jeans. Heck, I even painted my nails black. Stupid, I know, but I got a little carried away.

I jumped up from my bed once I heard the TV go off. I knew it would take a few minutes for her to fall asleep, so I checked myself out in the mirror meanwhile. I decided to do something with my hair. Maybe if I put it up people would mistake my shadow as a guy or something. I twisted my long black hair into a dark blue clip. I waited a full thirty minutes –just in case- before I grabbed my book bag and noiselessly climbed out my window.

I deeply breathed in the night's air and looked up at the sky. A crescent moon and a zillion stars faced me. A little smile played on my lips.

I had only walked a few yards when I smelled smoke. I stopped and sniffed. I swung around and my mouth fell open as my eyes landed upon my own house. My room was on fire! Worse, my mom's room was in the room next to mine.

Before I could react, something struck me upside the head hard and I was pulled into a world where darkness surrounded me and fire did not exist.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't even need to open my eyes to know that I was in a moving vehicle, lying face down with my book bag still on my back. I was also aware that there was a thick liquid that had dripped down the side of my face. I pressed my fingers to the liquid and opened my eyes to see if my thoughts of the liquid were correct. Seeing the blood still shocked me even though I expected it.

I would have started screaming for help right then and there if I didn't realized that I wasn't alone. Five people were also with me in different sections of what I could tell now was a truck. One was unconscious and another badly injured.

The badly injured one was a guy with shoulder length jet black hair and light skin. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were because he had them closed. I'm sure that he was awake though. The unconscious figure was a girl -the only one besides me- who looked to be hispanic with tan skin, curly shoulder length hair, and a beauty mark right beneath her left eye. I looked at the three guys who apparently were wide awake. One of them had rich brown skin with hair so short is looked painted on, and light gray eyes. Another had bright orange-redish hair, skin so pale you could tell he hadn't seen the sun in a long while, and light freckles running across the bridge of his nose. No offense to the guy, but he looked like the type that would be wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, if you know what I mean. The last guy had skin that was a golden tan -which you could tell wasn't natural without the sun- thick brown hair with golden highlights -also from the sun- and his eyes were a dark brown.

It didn't seem like they had come freely either. I could tell one thing though: they were afraid. Something told me it wasn't just because they were kidnapped either.

I groaned as I sat up. Why the hell was I here? Who had brought me here?

Dizzily, I stood up. I fell against the wall but remained standing. God, my head hurt so bad and suddenly a wave of nausea came over me.

"You can't use your powers," a voice said.

I looked at where the voice had come from and found myself looking at the guy with painted hair. I gave him a confused look. What the hell was he talking about?

The truck came to a sudden stop and I was flung foward onto the floor. Can you say _ow_?

"We've stopped," someone said frightened. I think it was the redhead dude.

Yeah, like none of us had noticed.

Next thing I knew, light was on my face and I was blinded. Then there was pretty much nothing...again.


	3. Chapter 3

I jolted awake to see myself in... a living room?

It wasn't just me and the five people that were with me in the truck either. There were four other people. Two of them were smiling and looked to be in their thirties or forties; one man and one woman. The other two appeared to be just watching and they weren't smiling. They looked to be only a few years older than me; one guy and one girl.

"Now that you're all up, we can began introductions," the woman said smiling. "First of all, I would like to welcome you all to your new home."

What the hell? Our new home? That made it seem like we were never leaving.

"This land is surrounded by a force field that none of you can break through," she said looking us each in the eye. "Not even with your powers."

Powers? What the hell was up with the powers? Were we talking about money? I mean, to many, money was power.

"Now," she said clapping her hands together once, "who wants to begin?"

The way she said it made it seem like she was a kid in Disneyland, and she was listening to hear which ride was the best. It was like she didn't know that she had just broken the law and kidnapped five teenagers. At least I think they were all teens.

"How about you?" she asked turning to the red-headed guy.

He looked behind him like he expected her to be talking to someone else. Then he just turned around and looked at her with narrowed eyes. Suspicious and frightened eyes. Can't blame him.

"Fine then," she said pressing her lips together to form a tight line. "My name is Jane Milston and this here is Logan Clarx. We operate this place and determine what goes and what does not. Everyone here listens to us or there are consequences. These are our assistants: Tina and Adam. Any questions you have you can ask us or them."

Logan Clarx was the man that looked to be forty-something. His hair looked a little peppered and he had a little bit of wrinkles in his face, but that didn't make him look old. Now, he was a big man and not big as in fat either. He seemed like the kind of guy that could accidently break your arm just by shaking it. Looking at him, I could sense a sort of strength like that despite the lack of huge muscles.

Jane Milston was a petite woman who looked to be somewhere in her thirties. Her hair was a honey blonde color, she wore thin wire glasses, and she had a nice smile. If she hadn't just kidnapped me and all these people, I would have said that she was a nice person.

Adam and Tina looked related. They both had brown hair -Tina's longer, of course, and darker- brown eyes, but Adam had thin lips and Tina had pouty ones. Adam was inches taller than Tina. Twins, I would guess.

"And you, my dear," Jane said turning back to red-head dude, " are Gill Soloman. You have two sisters, Ashleigh and Laura. You've gotten top honors since you were in fourth grade and you have had perfect attendance since sixth grade. You've only broken one bone in your body, which was in third grade. You broke your arm. Your mother is a real estate agent and your father is a lawyer."

There was an uneasy silence as Jane looked at at Gill like,_See_?

I was kind of afraid now. I mean... had they been watching us all of our lives? That's just a little freaky, y' know?

Jane looked at the girl who had been sitting next to Gill. Or rather, placed next to Gill.

I saw her gulp from across the room. "Nina Portson," she said licking her lips nervously.

We all turned to look at Golden Boy, who was sitting by himself in a La-Z-Boy chair. "Evan Carvey," he said looking Jane straight in the eye.

She didn't stare into his. She looked straight at the dude with painted on hair.

He glared at her with hatred in his eyes. "Chris," he said coldly. Yeah, he looked pretty pissed off.

I was next and for a moment I couldn't speak. I opened my mouth and nothing came out. She was smiling at me with this strange look in her eyes. A look that she didn't give any of the others.

"A.." I began then stopped. A? My name didn't start with A. "Zoe," I said clearing my throat. "Kaplan," I added.

Jet Black Hair Dude looked at her boredly. "Brecker," he said.

My guess was that that wasn't his first name.

For a while, Jane looked at him with narrow eyes. It was like she was trying to see right through him.

"Well done," she said with an amused smile. "Now we all know each other a little bit better."

"What the hell are we doing here?" Chris suddenly asked angrily.

"We brought you here to enhance your powers," Logan said stepping up for the first time, "and to chose the weak from the strong."

"What _powers_?" I blurted as I jumped up, not being able to handle the fact that I was so lost. I didn't expect every eye in the whole room to turn and look at me blankly.

Logan smiled a wide smile. A wicked smile.

"The lovely Miss Kaplan," he said coming towards me. He stopped in front of me and raised my chin with his fingers so I could met his eyes directly. A chill went up my arms. "You, my darling, have been a mystery to me for over eleven years."

I looked up at him coldly. This bastard has been watching me for eleven years? That's more than half my life. And then he had the nerve to call me darling? What a freak.

His fingers sent a cold tingle through my body. One that mad me feel sick. I felt like he was... like he was trying to get inside me or something. It hurt me. My brain began to feel like it was pulsing.

Logan smirked at me and that made me mad. I slapped his hand away suddenly pissed off. This guy was doing something to my head and he was enjoying it.

"Go to hell," I whispered.

He began to laugh amused. "So, Zoe, how's your mother?"

I began to narrow my eyes but they widened instead as I remembered the fire. By Logan's laugh, I had a pretty good idea how the fire started.

I shook my head and backed away from him. "You won't get away with any of this," I said my voice low, trying to stay in control.

"Won't I?" he asked stepping into the middle of the room to face everyone with an amused face. "According to the world, you're not kidnapped. You're all dead! No one's going to come looking for you. There's no place for any of you to go. This is your only home."

I guess the look our faces sent him into another laughing fit and Jane into another set of smiles.

Chris jumped up. "We won't let you get away with _any_ of this!"

"And we will stop you, whatever you're doing or planning on doing," Gill said matter-of-factly.

Evan stood up. "And we can beat you because together we're more powerful than _you_ are," he said simply.

"Oh?" Logan said in a mocking way.

He waved his hand and suddenly all of us who were standing were sent flying across the room and into a bookcase.

_Ouch_.

Apparently, Trevon and Nina were the only smart ones of this bunch.

As we struggled to get up, Jane turned to Tina and Adam and whispered to them.

"Adam and Tina will now show you to your rooms," she announced loudly as if flying across the room had affected our hearing. "And no more funny business. We wouldn't want you to get hurt."

God, you'd think we were in some kind of fun camp except without the fun. Or the camp. So I guess it was more like we were in prison. Or something.


	4. Chapter 4

When I saw my room, I forgot about everything bad. It just went right out the window.

I swear, I felt like I was in a hotel meant for rich people. There was a canopy bed with golden silk blankets, a beige leather loveseat in the middle with a crystal table and a silver widescreen TV. On the left, there was a kitchen that had silver everything -stove, oven, fridge, cabinets, etc. The bathroom was right next to the kitchen and had a double sink, a freakin' jacuzzi, tub, and a shower. There was a huge silver stereo near the left of my bed . There was also a beige desk with a silver flatscreen computer and all desk materials a person would need included -I know. I checked. There was a huge window seat that looked out onto...

That's when I was brought back to reality. Looking out the window, I could see guards in the woods, carrying weird looking weapons. At least, I think they were their weapons. This was definitely _not_ a welcoming home.

I sighed and set my book bag next to the bed as I walked to the closet.

My mouth fell open when I saw what was inside and not in an _oh-my-God-I-love-it way _either. More like an _oh-my-God-you-can't-be-serious _sort of way. The only thing the closet consisted of were dresses and skirts. Well, and, of course, shirts. But they were all dressy ones. I would have died there, but then I saw the shoes, and I had a heart attack. The shoes consisted of boots, sandals, clogs, regualr shoes -no gym shoes- and they were all heels or platforms. Just because I'm short doesn't mean that this is midget heaven for me. I hate high heels and crap like that. No way I was wearing this stuff.

I walked quickly to my bed and grabbed my bag that I had set down next to it. I had jeans in my bag, would they take them away?

I shoved my bag beneath my bed and looked around unsure of what to do next. These people had just kidnapped us, so why did they give us rooms like this? Rooms that appeared to be for special guests.

I decided to leave the room. I felt weird being in there. I mean, it was so beautiful and this place... wasn't. Well, actually, I hadn't really seen the whole place, but I meant that I knew that good things didn't happen here. And even if good things _did_ happen here, they weren't for good reasons.

I shut my door slowly and looked around. No one was wandering the hallways and it didn't look like there were any cameras. My room was on the left side of the hallway and there were seven doors besides my own.

Suddenly, the door in front of me opened and I was yanked inside. I fell to the ground. I looked up peering through my hair. It had come undone when I fell. I guess I didn't have the clip on tight enough. Great. Now my hair was probably all over the place.

Everyone was here. By everyone, I mean the people that were with me in the truck -Evan, Nina, Trevon, Gill, and Chris.

"It's about time you came," Gill said stubbornly as Nina said, "Wow, you have long hair" at the same time.

It seemed like they were waiting for me. Hah. As if I were important.

I took a look around. The room was just like mine except instead of beige and silver, it was gold and purple. Nina's room? I don't know why, but it seemed to fit colors that she would like.

"Anybody got any ideas on what the hell we're going to do to get the hell out of here?" Chris asked looking at each of us and I sat up.

"The question is, _why_ the hell are we here?" I said.

"They already told us that," Chris snapped. "They want to 'enhance' our powers and 'chose the weak from the strong'."

"And that's another thing; we can't use our powers, "Gill said with a sigh, "even if we could, they'd still beat us. The guy barely flicked his wrist and we were all down."

"And what did he mean by 'to the world you're all dead'?" Nina asked, shifting subjects.

Everyone looked around the room as if hoping that someone held the answers.

I looked over at the computer and then at the TV.

"What about the news?" I suggested looking at Nina.

Everyone stood except for Trevon and me. I couldn't help but notice that Trevon looked perfectly fine. You know, like he hadn't had the shit kicked out of him earlier. And that his eyes were green. A really nice green.

Nina and Chris went to the computer as Gill turned on the TV. He changed it to an all news channel that didn't look familiar.

"What site would I go to look up something like that?" Nina asked loudly for anyone to answer.

"Gill, turn up the TV," I said finally standing up. By the photos, I knew they were talking about my town.

"...was said earlier that day," the reporter was saying, "Moira Kaplan threatened to burn her daughter alive."

I sat down right in front of the TV and watched intently.

"Moira Kaplan is now under investigation for the murder of her sixteen year old daughter, Zoe Kaplan. Back to you, John..."

I leaned back and just stared at the TV. Chances were that my mom was going to be found guilty. Now, I know I said that I hated my mom, but that didn't mean I wanted her to be found guilty for my murder, especially since I was still alive.

"You guys, we're all here," Nina announced.

"How did I die?" Gill asked curiously from the couch right next to me.

"Suicide," Nina said still looking at the computer.

He frowned disappointed.

I looked at him like he was an idiot.

"What?" he asked suddenly offended.

"They faked your death," I said, "and you just want to know how you died? Doesn't it make you wonder how they found your body if you're _here_?"

He looked at me thinking about it.

"These people aren't playing around," Chris said.

"Yeah, even if we did escape, we'd have nowhere to go," Nina said.

"How do we even know that they didn't have these recorded and programmed just for us to see them?" Gill asked.

"And-"

Just then the door banged open cutting Nina off, not allowing us to hear whatever thoughts she had.

It was Tina.

"Come with me," she said.

Everyone exchanged a glance. Could we say no?

I felt a jolt in my body that made me stand up. It felt like someone was controlling my body.

"Can you follow on your own or do you really need my help?" Tina asked boredly.

Well, I guess that's a no for the no question.

We weren't the only ones here.

We all knew that as we followed Tina underground where there were numerous rooms. We could see the people in them. People our age. People older. People younger.

_ Had they all been kidnapped and thought to be dead?_ I wondered as I saw a little boy twisted a wrench twice around with his bare hands. Talk about amazing.

"Hello again," Jane said, greeting us in the middle of the hallway

Jane opened a door. "Today, we're just going to do basic on your power skills. You three go in here, you three come with me."

Evan, Trevon, and I went into the room as Gill, Nina, and Chris went with Jane. Inside the room, Logan and Adam were in the middle sitting behind a camera. Three chairs were placed in front of the camera. It was set up like a talk show. Minus the audience. And the happy feeling of being there. Not that I would have known what being at a... nevermind.

Man, I wondered what they would do once they figured out I had no real powers. Would they just get rid of me? And, if so, how?

"Please," Logan said with a wave of his hand, "have a seat."

Please. How polite. Bastard.

I sat down first followed by Trevon and Evan.

"Although I have been observing you for many years, I want to see the developement of your gifts firsthand. Evan, would like to be the first to show us what you can do?" Logan asked smiling brightly.

Evan stared at him with a grimace and then finally shrugged.

"Miss Kaplan, please stand," he said looking at me.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked bluntly, my eyes narrowing slightly.

He stopped smiling. "Don't think I can't make you."

I stood up slowly turning my gaze to Evan. I really had no idea what the hell was going on.

Evan stood, too, and faced me. He licked his lips and stepped closer.

I had an instinct to step back but I held my ground. I mean, I was kind of curious.

He put his hands on either side of my head and took a deep breath. I held my own. He was staring at me but he didn't look like he was seeing me.

"What do you want me to do?" Evan asked Logan. Again, he didn't sound like he was fully there.

"Hmm...make her... blonde," Logan said with a wave of his hand showing that he really didn't care.

Blonde? What the hell was he talking about?

My eyes widened as I saw that my hair was changing from black to blonde. My mouth sort of fell open too. I mean... what the hell?

"Now do her body," Logan said.

Um... that didn't sound good.

I winced as I felt something in me. I bit my lip as I winced again. My bones. He was doing something to my bones. I shut my eyes.

"Okay," Evan finally said.

I opened my eyes and looked at Logan. He whispered something to Adam and I saw Adam handed him something.

"Good," Logan said checking something on a clipboard that I hadn't even seen before. "Now change her back."

This time the change didn't hurt so bad. In fact, afterwards, I felt... refreshed.

"Your turn, Trevon," Logan said turning to look at him.

Trevon stood as Evan sat.

"Stay standing, Kaplan," Logan snapped as I was about to sit.

Geez. Why was he picking on me? He had no reason to hate me. _He_ was the one that had kidnapped me.

"Let's see your ability," Logan said.

Trevon looked me up and down slowly. If I were a blusher, I would be blushing right now.

"No," Trevon finally said boredly as he looked at Logan squarely.

That pissed Logan off. "What did you say?" Logan asked.

"No," Trevon said slowly as if he were talking to a two year old.

Logan smirked. "She might die if you don't."

Die? What? That definitely wasn't something that I wanted to do. Especially now.

That's when he flung something at me. It wasn't until it hit me -literally- in the chest that I realized it was a knife. I fell back into my chair, shocked. The pain was unbearable. Probably the worst I have ever had. Okay. So I was going to die.

"Shit," I heard Trevon say and then I saw his face in front of my own.

My mind was racing. _You're going to die, you're going to die_ it taunted.

I felt the knife be pulled out of me and I gasped in pain.

My eyes watered. I wasn't ready for this. I still wanted to do things before I died. I wanted to know why I was here...

I felt something, like a wave of heat course through my blood and then an image and... that was it.


	5. Chapter 5

I knew I was dead because when I opened by eyes there was a bright light. I was surprised not to see flames and feel a burning sensation. I mean, I thought I'd go to hell, y' know?

"Oh, good," a voice said. "You're up."  
When my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was staring at a chandelier. I blinked a few times and sat up quickly, looking around.

"What... what happened?" I asked rubbing my eyes.

Nina grunted. "Mr. Clarx tried to kill you," she said disgusted. "Luckily Trevon healed you."

I looked down. My shirt had been torn open but I didn't see anything that showed that I had been stabbed.

"He's a good healer," she said.

I nodded slowly. "I see that."

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she told me. "These people... they don't care if we die. I mean, we're already dead."

I nodded again.

"So you guys all have... like...you guys can do stuff," I said not knowing how to word what I was saying.

She nodded looking at me intently as if she couldn't figure me out.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"Well... Trevon can heal, Evan can change people -I guess- and...well, you know," I said sort of confusing myself on what I was saying.

"Okay," I said starting over and taking a breath. "You all have powers."

"And...you don't?" she asked, sounding like she couldn't decide if this was a trick question.

Had I not mentioned this before? Hadn't I made it kind of obvious that I didn't?

I nodded once.

She shook her head, telling me that she didn't believe what I was saying. "You do," she told me. "You have to. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't make a mistake like that."

I took this in as I turned and looked into the mirror.

My contacts were still in.

"You know," she said standing and changing the subject, "I've heard about Trevon and how he's like."

She paused. "He's very dangero -he's just not the type of person that just heals someone especially someone he doesn't know."

Then she left.

I stood up and looked at the door. Did she mean that I should thank him?

I looked out the window. It was getting dark. God, how long was I out? I touched my head where I had been hit -what, yesterday? Well, anyway the bump and dizziness was gone. He really was a good healer.

I sighed and reached for my book bag. It was gone.

"Damn," I breathed upset.

That meant that someone had been in my room.

I rubbed my head. Man... I really needed a hot shower.

I didn't exactly know what to put on once I got out of the shower but I did find the underwear drawer. I was glad to see the bras and underwear weren't all lacey and crap. I mean, that was okay sometimes, I guess. I, however, am a sports bra type of girl.

I searched through all of the drawers and found that there were actually pants. There were three jeans, one blue, one black, and one beige. There were also three pairs of capris in the same colors.

I put on the blue pair of jeans deciding that I would wear the black and beige ones during the day. I found a drawer that was filled with tank tops in about every single color. I decided on a black one with one-inch-wide straps.

I looked at my door again. Maybe I should just thank him now?

It wasn't hard locating Trevon's room considering that all of the doors now had our names on them. Plus, his room was the only one with the light on, besides mine.

I knocked softly on his door. No answer.

I was never one to just give up. I wasn't just going to head back to my room after I had just gotten this far. Not to mention that if I didn't do this now than I wouldn't ever do it. Most likely, anyway. Plus, I wanted to see his room. This would probably be my only chance to.

I walked inside. Ooh. I liked his room. It was black with a deep dark red and silver. Why did he get three colors?

I was about to turn back to head towards the door but just then I heard someone coming up the hallway. I knew it was him.

I searched around the room trying to decide where to hide. My eyes widened as I saw the door knob turn. I fell to the floor and slid under his bed. I held my breath as I heard the door open. I don't know about you but if someone came into my room without permission I'd be pretty pissed. Especially if I didn't know them.

I heard him set something down on his kitchen counter and then go into the bathroom. Was he going to take a shower?

I slowly slipped out from under the bed and stood up quietly. I didn't hear anything. I kept my eyes on the bathroom door as I made my way to the door.

But I guess I should have kept my eyes on where I was going, because I tripped over a lamp cord and crashed to the floor, bringing the lamp down with me.

I froze where I was and hoped to God that he hadn't heard any of that.

"What the hell are you doing?" Trevon asked coldly.

I looked up at where he was standing shirtless in the doorway of his bathroom. I swear, his being shirtless didn't change a thing.

"I..." I didn't know what to say, that's what.

I looked at the door. I figured I would let him cool off and thank him tomorrow and I knew I could make it to the door because I was closer. I stumbled up and ran to the door but he made it there first. I mean, I barely blinked and he was there. I backed away slowly, a little afraid.

_I've heard about Trevon and how he's like. He's very dangero -he's just not the type of person that just heals someone especially someone he doesn't know_.

Yeah, he was mad.

"So..." I said nervously laughing as I looked around with fake happiness, "this is your... room."

He just kept looking at me with this intent blank stare. How is that? Blank and intent? It made me uncomfortable.

"Well, now that I've seen your room," I said with a fake smile, "I'll just leave."

He just kept looking at me and there was no way for me to leave the room with him standing directly in front of the door.

I bit my lip and looked at him like _are you gonna move or what?_

He stepped towards me and my heart completely stopped. I had no idea what to expect. He stopped directly in front of me and I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes.

"What are you doing," he asked slowly, "in my room?"

Okay, so he wasn't stupid -not that I thought he was or anything. He knew I was lying. I guess it wasn't hard to figure out anyway.

"I... I was going to thank you," I said glancing down and when I realized I was staring at his chest I looked away. God, how embarrassing. I hope he didn't see that.

"Thank me," he repeated narrowing his eyes.

"Yes," I said firmly. "You... didn't have to... heal me or... whatever it is you do that you did to me."

He stepped closer and I had no choice but to step back.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked again.

Was he not satisfied with my answer? I thought about it and looked at his face. No, definitely not. Why was I in his room? I mean, I didn't _have_ to come in here. I could have waited until tomorrow, in the hallway or something. What had brought me here?

"I..." Again, I didn't know what to say.

Then a weird thing happened. My eyes widened as I witnessed it. Something flashed in his eyes. It wasn't like I saw that he realized something. I actually _saw_ something flash in them. It was like a dark shadow and he shut his eyes, shuddered, and stepped back.

I took a step back myself. I mean, honestly, what the hell? I was afraid now. Well, I was actually afraid before but now... it was... different.

He looked up at me coldly. Like whatever had happened to him had been _my_ fault.

He came towards me again and I don't know why, but I panicked. I ran. _Again_. I had no idea I was this much of a chicken.

Since he was closer to the door, I had to run around the couch. I honestly thought I was going to get away, but he didn't even need to chase me. Right when I was just about to make a clean cut for the door, I felt him grab my arm and yank me back.

I squealed as I was whipped around. What I did next was a simple reflex, I swear. I punched him square in the face. Well, not square. In fact, it was his cheek. I was going for the nose. But, to me, that's still pretty good.

He fell onto the couch, and I just stood there, right over him. I felt kind of bad now. I mean, the guy scared the crap out of me, but was he really about to hurt me especially after he had finished healing me? All he had asked was why I was in his room.

He looked up at me like _God, what the hell is wrong with you?_

"If you must know," I said -not afraid anymore since I had just taken him down- as I put my hands on my hips, "I _was_ going to thank you. And I _did_ kind of want to see your room. Like I said before, you didn't have to heal me, and I figured since your light was on that you were just being a jerk and not answering, so I entered. Lucky for you, I'm not going to question you about _where_ you were. Well, not now anyway. Now that I've answered your question for a _second_ time, I will leave now. Good night."

Just then he grabbed my arm again clearly recovered from my punch, and I practically fell on top of him. He pulled me close so that our faces were only inches apart.

"Next time," he said in a harsh whisper, "_don't_ thank me and _think_ before you come in here."

I peered into his eyes. What kind of game was he trying to play?

I swallowed and searched his face. He glanced down and I froze. I knew exactly where he was looking and I didn't know why he was looking there but now I was afraid of something else he might do.

"I will," I said coldly, narrowing my eyes and shrugging his hand off of my arm.

And with that I walked out. The thing was, I was pissed off and I had no idea why. Not knowing pissed me off even more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Thank you, those who have reviewed. Your comments are very appreciated.**

The next day, I peered into the mirror disgusted. After seeing me, Jane sent me back to my room, givingme alecture aboutmy clothing choice.

"You will wear dresses and skirts unless instructed otherwise," she said sounding like a Stepford wife.

I chose to wear a black mini-skirt and cream colored sweater with black boots. I was going to wear a deep red shirt but the outift reminded me of Trevon's room and what had happened last night. Whatever that was that had happened.

I sighed boredly as I stared at the lady at the front of the room I was in.

Sessions.

That's what Jane had called them. It was basically a class.

"The bases of your powers come within you," the lady told us.

I think I could have told her that.

The little girl sitting at the desk beside me was looking everywhere wide-eyed. Almost like she was traumatized.

"Understanding yourself will help you understand your powers," she continued. "Most people's powers are affected by their emotions. An angry person or afraid person usually has less control of their powers. It's said that their powers can consume them if they're not carefully."

Inside, I was shaking my head. I had lost my temper many times. I had never _once _showed _any_thing remotely to be considered a power.

I looked around the room again, growing fidgety. My eyes stopped on the boy that sat two seats to the left of me. He was staring at me intently, like he was trying to do something to me.

I glared at him, letting him know to back off. I didn't want him to work whatever power he had on me.

His gaze flew to the front of the room again, so fast that you would have thought I had slapped him.

"...does anyone have any questions?" the lady in the front of the room asked.

Um... what the hell was she talking about?

She snapped her fingers and the door opened, four people -three men and one woman- entered. They were dressed for business. Black suits and hair slicked back.

I felt on alert. Maybe I really should have paid attention.

"You in the back are first," she instructed pointing to me and the other three in the back. "The rest of you come over here."

The four business people came to the back, setting us up so that we sat facing them. Then they each kneeled in front of us, taking a deep breath.

I swallowed and looked at the girl beside me once again. She looked so terrified. I thought she was going to break down crying or screaming any second now. Her fear sort of rubbed off on me.

I felt a chill as I stared into the man's eyes before me. He didn't look at me like I was a person. He looked at me like I was something to be studied.

I felt hypnotized by his eyes. They were green and blue with golden specks.

I was falling into them. I couldn't look away. I couldn't move. A part of me wondered if I was even breathing. What was he doing to me?

It was like I was being drugged.

"Tell me," he whispered, his lips barely moving. "Tell me now."

What was I suppose to tell him? It was there, in my mind, but what was it?

"Show me," he whispered, his lips again barely moving.

_Show him_, my mind told him. _Show him now_.

He leaned forward, leaning his forehead against mine.

And then I didn't see him anymore.

I was somewhere else. In a house. An vacant house.

I looked around, confused.

His voice was still there. _Show me. Tell me_.

I walked around, taking in the kitchen. It wasn't the prettiest thing. I could tell just by seeing it that this house wasn't brand new.

I walked furthur, going into the living room. Nothing special.

Why was it so familiar?

The tips of my fingers trailed the hallway walls, feeling the rough texture. I had felt this texture before.

I opened the door at the end of the hall without hesistantion.

It was a bedroom. The one room in the house that wasn't empty.

It was _my_ room.

I swallowed as I saw someone curled up in the corner. She was crying.

I looked around the room again. Everything looked like it had when I had left it.

The girl sat up and looked at me, her eyes blood shot. The hair that framed her face was damp with her tears.

She shook her head at me. "You're not here," she told me. "You're not."

I could only stare at her. I knew who she was. I didn't have to be told.

She was me.

The door slammed behind me and I jumped slightly, turning to look at it. I turned back around to face the girl.

She stood right in front of me. I jumped back startled.

"Get out," she screamed hatefully. "I hate you. You did this to me."

I looked at her confused.

I shook my head, wanting to tell her no.

She showed me her wrists. I gasped and backed away as I saw all of the cuts and bruises.

"Look what you did to me," she whispered, her nostrils flaring.

I shook my head harder, backing up against the door.

"Look what you did to yourself," she whispered.

I looked down at my own arms. I gave a little cry.

They mirrored hers.

"You disgrace me."

I looked up at the change of voice. My mother stood there, looking down at me with pure disgust.

"Mom?" I asked, sounding like a child as I reached a bloody arm out to her.

She winced as if she smelled something foul.

"I'm not your mother," she told me hatefully. "I would never give birth to a _freak_."

"No, mom," I said shaking my head.

_Tell me..._

"I'm not a freak," I told her, my voice breaking.

She came at me, grabbing my throat and dragging me upwards.

"Don't _ever _say that," she hissed. "Don't let _anyone_ even _try_ to make you believe that."

Her nails dug into my neck as tears rolled my face.

_Show me..._

I reached up slowly to touch her cheek.

She froze at my touch and then let go of me, shoving me back.

"Don't touch me," she snapped.

"But I love you," I cried coming to her, "why can't you love _me_!"

I felt like my mind was breaking. I was coming undone. There were so many things that I wanted to say, so many things I wanted to tell her. They were all there swirling in my mind. They wanted out..

Just then I felt the burning. My arm felt like it was being heated up. I looked down at my right arm. I screamed as I realized that I was on fire.

I looked around. The whole house was on fire.

I looked at my mom for help. She didn't move.

I sucked in air as I was back into the "session" room.

The man that was in front me had collapsed and lay at my feet.

I jumped as I realized that I really _was_ on fire.

The little girl that had been beside me had burst into a fireball. I mean, literually, her entire body was on fire and yet... she didn't seem to care about that.

The man that had been connected to her was screaming at the top of his lungs, running around the room.

Someone came at me, killing the fire that had crept up my arm. I could still feel the burning.

Logan entered followed by Nina, Trevon and a bunch of other people that had been nearby.

Logan held up his hand, freezing the flailing man. He nodded to a girl beside him.

She held up her own hand and the fire disappeared.

I looked away, horrified at the sight of the burnt body.

The person that had helped me also helped me up. I looked at the person, who hadn't taken his eyes off the guy, who had collapsed once Logan let him go.

The room was silent for about a whole minute.

"Get the children out of here," Logan told the lady that had been teaching the class.

She did so without a word.

The girl who had made the fire disappear grabbed the little fire girl, causing her to return back to normal.

Trevon and Nina came to me.

"Are you all right?" Nina asked concerned.

I nodded, looking down at my arm.

Without a word, Trevon touched my arm lightly, healing it. I was glad not to pass out this time.

"What happened?" Nina asked, dazed as she snuck a peak at the man that was still knocked out on the floor.

"I really don't know," I said absently as I looked down at my healed arm. Not cuts or anything. Had they been there beneath the burns?

I looked at both of them and swallowed.

"Let's go," I told them.

They didn't object.

Someone came to help the man at my feet.

The only thing that I could think of was what he did to me and how, whatever it was, he hadn't finished, leaving me unwhole, feeling like a huge part of me was missing.

I never even thought to think of what I had done to him.


	7. Chapter 7

I was surprised when no one woke us in the morning to bring us downstairs. Whether or not it was because of the incident yesterday, we were all thankful for it.

"Does anyone even know where all the other people stay?" Gill asked curiously as he looked through the cabinets in my kitchen.

I sat on the counter, swinging my legs so that the heel of them hit the cabinet beneath me.

"They're probably somewhere around here," Chris said absently as he rubbed his head.

He sat on the loveseat next to Nina while Evan sat on the arm rest and Trevon stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

I must admit that I was surprised that Trevon had shown up with the rest of them. He didn't seem like one to string along.

"Man," Gill said perking up, "there's this girl here who can touch you and know everything about you -your past, what you're thinking and what's going to happen. It's freaky because-"

"Gill," Nina snapped, "shut up."

He did so, looking a little hurt.

"_I_ want to know what happened yesterday," she said looking at me.

"Yeah, what were they doing to you guys?" Evan asked curiously.

And just like that, everyone's eyes were on me. Waiting.

I looked into each of their eyes, straying longer on Trevon, who hadn't even spoken a word.

I swallowed and looked down at my swinging feet.

"I really don't know," I said quietly. "But it was... _terrible_." The last word came out as a breath as I remembered the images.

I shuddered.

"I doubt they'd do it to you," I said suddenly, sitting up straighter. "They were trying to figured out our powers. You guys already know you have them."

"Well, that's a relief," Gill said.

Chris, who had entered the kitchen, smacked him upside the head as Nina shot him a dirty look.

"Did they figure out your powers?" Chris asked.

I rolled my eyes suddenly annoyed as I hopped off the counter. "How many times do I have to _tell_ you people? I don't have any Goddamn powers. I think I would have known by now if I did."

I was breathing hard, my nostrils flaring. I was peeved. These people obviously lacked the sense of hearing.

"I already told you before," Nina said calmly, "they don't-"

"Well, they did make a mistake, okay?" I practically shouted. "I have been pissed off and gotten the shit scared out of me -which are 'supposedly' the two times your powers come out - and there has been _nothing_. _Zilch_. I'm not like you, you, you _or _you. I'm not like _any_ of you."

With each 'you' I had pointed to each of them.

They were silent, looking at me like they weren't fazed by my words.

"We have to leave," Chris said abruptly changing the subject as he exchanged a look with Gill..

"Did I miss something?" I asked confused, my anger put on hold as I looked around at everyone.

"Remember the first day when you said something about how our bodies were found and yet we're still right here?" Chris asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. And?"

"Gill and I did a little snooping around and found out that the people that don't meet up to their expections? Yeah, they're put down and reused for their own benefit."

"How's that possible?" Nina asked.

"Yeah, our DNA don't match," I said.

"They have a man here, some sort of doctor, that can clone DNA using real people," Gill said.

That kind of caught my attention. Cloning of DNA?

"Don't you get it?" Chris asked. "We are only six out of about a hundred of teens here. Chances are that none of us will meet up to their expectations."

I nodded understanding. I didn't even meet up to their expectations _now_. Like I had said before, I swear that they got the wrong girl. What would I be used for?

"How do you expect us to get out of here?" Nina asked bluntly. "There's guards everywhere and they control the use of our powers."

"Not Zoe's," Gill said. "They're waiting for her to use them."

Oh my God! Hadn't we just gone through this? Hadn't I just yelled at them over this?

"They don't make mistakes," Chris said firmly, his voice cold. "Some people go on living their lives never knowing about their powers. They ignore it too afraid to acknowledge it. Obviously your power is huge or they would have never brought you here."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Believe me," I told him, "if I had a power, I would have used it."

"Unless you're too afraid," he said leaning towards me.

I narrowed my eyes at him again. We stared each other, waiting for the other one to break. Was he right? Was I too afraid? Why would I be afraid?

"Get... the hell out... of my room," I said pressing my lips tightly together.

"You might as well just dig our graves by hand," he hissed getting up and leaving with everyone else in tow. Nina looked back sympathically.

I let out a breath and rubbed my head. "_Bas_tard," I muttered to myself turning around to jump off of my bed.

I just about had the crap scared out of me when I saw Trevon leaning against the wall looking straight at me. Like I said, he wasn't one to string along. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see him there.

"Jesus," I breathed.

"That's the first time someone's called me that," he said standing up straight. It was weird how I had forgotten all about him.

"What do you want?" I asked rumaging through my cabinets.

"I think Chris is right," he said simply, entering the kitchen.

I swung around and practically ran right into him. He was so close, it kind of...well, made my heart race -in a frightened way.

I took a step back.

"And what is he right about?" I asked tilting my head to one side.

"I think you're afraid," he said with raised eyebrows. It was like he was challenging me.

"I am _not_ afraid," I said jabbing my finger at his chest.

He grabbed my wrist in a firm grip. Guess he didn't like people touching him. "Are you sure?"

I opened my mouth to say something and then shut it. I had just finished telling him that I wasn't. Didn't he get it? The idiot. Guys, I swear.

"Of course I am," I said disgusted with him.

He took a step foward, still holding my wrist and my back ran into the fridge.

Now my heart was pounding and any second now it was going to sink to the bottom of my stomach. What was he planning on doing?

He leaned down and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. He stopped not even an inch before his lips touched mine. I could feel his breath mingling with my own.

"Are you afraid now?" he whispered peering into my eyes.

I didn't even know what he was thinking now. Before, I knew that he challenging me, but now I had no idea what he was doing. His eyes were unreadable. I didn't think that was a good sign.

I shook my head slowly. "No," I said then held my breath.

He leaned closer until his breath was against my ear and I shut my eyes.

"You're a bad liar," he whispered then stepped away.

I continued to hold my breath and keep my eyes shut. I didn't want to open my eyes to find myself sinking into the green pools of his eyes. Or feel his breath with mine. It was invading. Like I wasn't my own person. Like... I was his. And I definitely wasn't.

I let my breath go as I heard the door shut and sank to the floor, putting my head in my hands.

Gosh, what the hell was he doing to me? Okay, so he could heal, but there had to be more. I mean... no one ever did that to me, whatever that was. The point was, whatever he did, it wasn't normal. And he knew something too. I mean, why else would he try to convice me that I was afraid? It seemed like he wanted me to have some sort of power, but... why?

I opened my eyes and looked up at my ceiling. "What are you doing to me?"

Of course, no one answered.

I don't think anyone could, even Him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I must admit that I update so fast because I'm really into this one. I'm glad that all my reviewers -who I would also like to thank right now- also like it. Without you guys, I probably would've have stopped posting and kept the story to myself. So thank you. Your input means a lot. **

We weren't broken up in groups this time.

"Follow me," Jane said entering a room. Of course, we followed her. It's not like we had much of a choice.

I looked around the room in surprise. It was _huge_.

"We're definitely not in Kansas anymore," Nina muttered as Evan let out a low whistle.

The next thing I noticed was that what took up most of the space was a large metal tube.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Jane asked excitedly.

We just looked at her. Just looking at the tube let me know that I didn't even want to go at _all_._ Ever_.

"Okay, fine," she said sighing. "Zoe, you can go first."

Oh, the luck I seem to have.

She walked over to a set of chairs that were facing tons of computers and TVs, and she set down the papers she had in her hands. She pulled out things from one of the drawers and came back to us.

"Turn," she said.

I looked at her like _What?_

"Turn," she said her voice changing dramatically.

I turned and she grabbed my hands and put them behind my back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nina and I asked in unison.

"Your hands are going to be tied behind your back," Jane said. "The last thing we want you to do is end up hurting yourself."

"I am _not_ going in that..._tube_," I said, "especially tied up and... shit."

She pulled extra tight on the knot and then placed something over my eyes. It wasn't a cloth either. In fact, it felt like goggles. Ones that I couldn't see through.

She led me into the tube. I know because once I entered the tube I could see again. It was weird.

She practically threw me on a chair and then she leaned close to my ear and whispered, "And just so you know, it's very rare that a person who doesn't have control over his or her powers to get out of here alive."

So she didn't want me to hurt myself but she didn't mind if I was killed by this stupid thing? Well, that made a crapload of sense.

She left.

"Bitch," I breathed then swallowed.

These people had some major mental problems. Here they were taking six, seventeen -or whatever age year olds- and setting them up to make the world to think they're dead, so that they could kill them. I mean, this is the second-or-something time in two days that I'm going to have a near death experience.

I didn't have any kind of powers whatsoever. They must have mistaken me for a different Zoe Kaplan. And now I was about to pay for their mistake.

I was doing my best to stay calm as the walls were pulled up to reveil walls that appeared to be glass or something that looked very much like glass.

Jane sat at a chair in front of all the computers and crap, while everyone else sat in chairs behind her. They didn't look very comfortable or happy. In fact, it kind of looked like they were forced to sit there.

"Okay now, Zoe, " Jane said loudly, "let's see what's in your mind."

In my mind? Right now I was wondering how I was going to get the hell out of this place. Oh, and I was thinking of what the hell was going to happen to me. Would it be like the other day? It felt like that one dude was trying to play with my mind a bit.I also couldn't help but wonder whether or not I was going to die.

I looked around kind of dazed as I saw electricity going up the walls. It was... beautiful. I hate to say it but... it really was. If I had a camera, I would take a picture. But I didn't.

Then, out of the blue, it began to surround me, coming off the walls. It was still cool but now it was cool in a frightening way.

That's when it struck me and I closed my eyes and felt myself scream. I could feel the heat and it burned. I think I passed out because when I opened my eyes... I was home.

I shot up and looked around. Everything looked as it did when I left except that it was morning. I looked down at my outfit and saw that I was wearing my pajamas. So it was a dream. All of it. Thank God.

"Honey," I heard my mom call, "you're going to be late."

Late for what, school? And since when did my mom care about that?

"Um... okay," I called back unsure. I changed and went into the kitchen.

My mouth fell open.

My mom was cooking breakfast.

"Oh, my God," I breathed in disbelief. "What the hell are you _do_ing?"

"Well, I figured it was the perfect thing for you on your first morning back home," she said smiling warmly.

"First day back home?" I asked confused.

She frowned. "The doctor said this would happen. You don't remember, do you?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Come," she said taking my arm and leading me to a chair. "Sit."

I sat as she sat across from me and took my hands in hers.

"Honey, "she began, "a couple of weeks ago you were in a car accident. You got out and were walking to get help when it blew up. You were thrown clear of the accident scene, but you hit your head."

She gave me this sympathic look. Well, that would explain why I had fire in my dream.

"Oh," I said blankly. "Well, I-"

"Sweetie, I'm home," a voice called out.

What the hell?

"We're in the kitchen," my mom said standing up, her face brightening.

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. My heart was racing. Was it... No. It couldn't be. I waited, anticipating. Did he come back?

I stood up startled as a man walked into the kitchen. The man had no face.

I gasped. "Oh, my God."

The man looked at me. At least... I think he was looking at me.

I swallowed and took a step back.

My mother went to him and put her arms around him, looking at me with a wicked smile.

I backed up into the sink.

"I thought the freak was taken care of," the man said to my mother.

"She survived," my mom answered simply, shrugging carelessly.

Just then the man pulled a knife out of his pocket and came charging at me and, just like that, I was in a horror movie.

Another mind trick, I thought to myself. The thing was, unlike the other one, I actually felt in control of myself in this one. Like I could think clearly and everything. My emotions weren't all over the place. That's what made it feel so much more real. And worse.

I wasn't, however, in control of the situation.I was cornered, and I had nowhere to run.

I raised my hands to shield myself and he struck me. I screamed as I felt the knife pierce my skin, going half way through my arm. The strange thing was that the knife began to grow while it was in my skin and appeared through the other side of my arm. Is that possible? Guess it was because it hurt like a _bitch_.

He grabbed me by the same arm and I shrieked in pain as he flung me across the kitchen. I lost my balanced and tripped over the chair, landing on my arm.

"What's the matter, child?" the man asked coming quickly towards me. "This is the hello your father gets?"

Father? This man could not be my father. I mean, he was trying to kill me, for crying out loud. _He_ left _me_. If anything, I should be the one trying to kill him.

I pulled the knife out of my arm and gasped in pain. I had planned on using it for protection, but when he picked me up roughly by the neck, it fell from my hands.

My eyes widened as I realized that he was choking me.

"Mom," I wheezed trying to pull the man's hands off my neck.

She stood behind him with a loving smile. As if she were watching a good thing for the first time that she knew she would store someplace along with her happy memories.

Everything became blurry as my eyes watered. I couldn't breathe anymore. Now would definitely be a good time -no, _great _time- to wake up...

And then I did. I blinked, still gasping for breath and looked around.

Where the hell was I?

I was in a white room. A _bright_, white room. I held up my hand to shield my eyes, notcing that the pain and the blood were all gone. I wish I had sunglasses. Finally, my eyes adjusted, and I took a better look around.

There was a machine at the end of the room, facing a chair. I came closer and touched it. Nothing happened. I looked around wondering if anyone lived here. There was... a jail cell? I don't know what it was, but it sure as hell looked like a jail cell. The bars were a shiny silver. Nicest cell I've ever seen.

I turned my attention back to the machine. There were a lot of buttons. Red ones, green ones, gold ones, yellow ones... there were just too many. I was afraid to press one. I mean, what if I made the thing blow up?

"What the hell are you doing in here?" an angry voice asked.

I flung around startled. I hadn't even seen a door. I was even more startled to see that it was Logan.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know what to see.

"You're not to suppose to be in here," he said madly as he lifted his hands.

I let out an _ugh_ as I was thrown into the wall by an unseen force. Well, then again, I guess it was seen. It was Logan, afterall.

He stood above me and I looked above me afraid. This guy could do things I didn't even know were real outside of books or movies up until a few days ago. You have to admit, if someone could fling you around with their mind, it would be kind of freaky.

He lifted his fist like he was about to strike me and I shut my eyes tight waiting for the blow. It felt like...electricity.

Suddenly, I was shaking so hard that when I opened my eyes, I wasn't sure of where I was. I felt like I was having a seizure. My teeth were hitting each other and my whole body was jerking around like a fish out of water.

"Get her out of there," I heard someone shout. Trevon?

"You're killing her," someone else yelled. Nina?

"Stop it!" another voice cried out as two others barked it. Gill, Evan and Chris?

"I'm trying," I heard Jane snap back. To get me out or kill me?

I felt this sudden jerk that was so painful that I pulled my hands apart and whatever restraint that was on them broke.

I stood up and looked at Jane. Everything looked fine now.

They all stared at me shocked, like they were seeing something that shouldn't be there.

Suddenly, with what seemed byond my control, I lifted my hands and screamed the most loudest scream I think I have ever heard in my life.

I'm not sure what happened, but the tube shattered and Jane, Nina, Gill and Evan ducked as they screamed, frightened and Chris flinced bringing his arm up to cover his face.

Trevon just stared at me and I stared back.

_What's wrong? _I wanted to ask him. _What's happending?_

All of the sudden, I was exhausted. I felt dizzy again. I could feel myself swaying, and then I was falling.

Falling into darkness... back into myself.

**A/N: I wasn't really sure about this chapter... I'd be glad to hear what you thought of it. **


	9. Chapter 9

_"I'd rather see you burn to death than to know you're a freak"-_

_-"Moira Kaplan is now under investigation for her sixteen year old daughter, Zoe Kaplan"-_

_-"Luckily Trevon healed you... He's not the type of person that just heals someone"-_

_-"What are you doing in my room?"-_

_-"And just so you know, it's very rare that a person who doesn't have control over his or her powers to get out of here alive"-_

_-"This is the hello your father gets?"-_

_"-It was your eyes"-_

I woke up with a gasp.

A girl, who had been by my bed, jumped back startled with a scream.

I looked around the room frantically.

What the hell had happened? How did I get here?

The girl said something.

I turned towards her. She kept her distance, but looked concerned.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes and then rubbing my head. My head was pounding as if I had a headache. But it felt different. Like my mind was being torn apart. It was a numbing pain.

"Are you okay?" she asked, taking a step forward.

I looked at her cautiously, then nodded slowly. She looked so familiar, but I couldn't place her.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to push myself away from her. I didn't know if she was here to hurt me or not.

She stared at me intently. "You don't remember me?"

I shook my head strenuously. Should I know her?

My head began to pound just wondering whether I should or not.

"Do you know _your_ name?" she asked carefully.

"A-"

She shook her head, cutting me off.

Now, I was confused. Who was I?

"Your name is Zoe," she told me. "Mine is Nina."

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out an _ah _as I pulled my hair.

My brain. It felt like it was tearing. All these images shot through my head, all these words. I couldn't keep track of them. I could swear that it was my life flashing through my head in little scenes. Some stuck, others didn't.

But now I knew who Nina was. And myself. Sort of.

I looked at her confused. "What the... what the hell is wrong with me?"

She sat down on the bed. "What's the last thing you remember?"

I thought about it. "I... I don't know," I told her, closing my eyes. "I remember things, I just don't know when some of them happened. Everything's just... messed up."

"Do you remember how you got to this place?" she asked.

I nodded slowly, the images creeping slowly through my head. The fight, the sneaking out, the fire...

"Man, what the hell happened to you? They took you away for three days."

I bit my lip. Things were coming back. Slowly, but still, they were coming.

"Do you remember passing out or anything?" she asked, thinking.

I shook my head. "Tell me what happened."

" Jane made you go into this tube thing. I'm not sure what it was suppose to do but...you should have seen yourself," she said, shaking her head as she remembered, "you were screaming like you were in so much pain. Jane said the electricity wasn't supose to go through your body, but it did. And, man, when you stopped screaming, all of the computers stopped and then your eyes opened. You were shaking so hard and all of the computers went..._crazy_. And then your eyes... man, your _eyes_. They began to _bleed_ and turn all these different colors and you screamed -and the walls all broke. You should have seen it. Well, I mean, you shouldn't have, but then you began to fall and... Trevon caught you. Man, I've never seen anyone move that fast either. I mean, I blinked and -_bam_- he already had you in his arms. He hasn't even-"

My head snapped towards the direction of the closest mirror. I stopped listening to her. I heard all that I really needed to hear.

I had completely forgotten about my eyes. I hopped off my bed, stumbling and falling. I had moved too fast and I guess my legs weren't used to the movement.

Nina kneeled beside me, touching my arm.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"My eyes..." I said trailing off.

"Well, they're fine now," she said, helping me up.

"What color are they?" I asked fretfully.

"Brown," she said slowly.

I made my way to my bathroom, shrugging off her arm. I peered closely into the mirror.

My eyes were brown. Without my contacts. That wasn't right at all.

I took a deep breath, standing up straight.

"What's the matter?" Nina asked, standing in the doorway.

I didn't look at her. I just stared straight into my own eyes.

"I don't know," I told her finally, then turned to look at her. "But I'm sure as hell going to find out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Author's Note: I am going to apologize right now that this chapter is much shorter than the rest. I've been reconstructing things in the story to make it more interesting. I promise to make it up in the following chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Sorry that this chapter took longer than usual. My computer's caught a virus. It's very slow. And I'm usually too impatient to wait for it to load.**

The halls were empty, which was a surprise considering that I remembered the woods being guarded.

"Where are we going?" Nina whispered.

Truth was, I didn't want Nina to come with me. This was something that I wanted to do myself. But she didn't leave me alone about it. Finally, I was just so annoyed with her that I said it was fine if she came.

This also could have been because I didn't know the place that well and I was afraid of getting lost.

"How the hell should I know?" I whispered back harshly.

My heart was pumping a little faster then usual. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to us if we got caught.

I followed Nina, who had appartently decided to be the leader, which, in a way, I didn't mind at all. I had no idea what I was doing. We went into another hallway that led off of the living room.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

She looked at me boredly.

Without saying a word, she stopped abruptly. So abruptly that I ran right into her.

"Someone's coming," she said looking at me confused.

I looked around. I didn't see or hear anyone.

"How do you know?" I asked, lowering my voice even more.

Her hand shot out, laying her palm flat on the wall. "Go," she hissed, shoving right into the wall.

I honestly thought that she had been possessed. I saw the wall rush at me and prepared for the impact, but the next thing I knew, I was in a different room, crashing into a filing cabinet.

I regained my balance and whipped around, stunned.

Nina stood behind me. "Shh," she told me, holding a finger to her lips.

I waited, glancing around the room. It looked like a filing room.

"Okay," Nina finally said, turning to look at me fully.

"What the hell was _that_ all about?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said, "but I thought our powers weren't suppose to work."

"Well... what exactly _are_ your powers?" I asked curiously. "I mean... what the hell did you _do_ back there?"

"I'm not really sure what it'd be called," she told me, thinking about it. "I guess you could say that I can make something disappear and then give the illusion that it's still there."

She seemed to be thinking about what she had said as if she were wondering if she had said it correctly.

It made sense to me.

"Can you do that to people?" I asked.

She thought about it.

"You know," she finally said, "I never really thought to try it."

Then she went to the nearest filing cabinet.

"What are these files of?" she muttered.

She seemed to be more into this than I was.

"Well, if they're so easy to get to, I doubt they're that important," I said as I went to the filing cabinet I had ran into.

I pulled one open and shuffled through the files.

In an organization that kidnapped people, what would they need paperwork for?

That's when I realized that all the papers were blank.

"What the hell?" Nina said, saying what I was thinking, as she moved onto the next cabinet.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. I began to walk through the aisles of cabinets. It was like a maze. Why would they have tons of filing cabinets filled with blank paper? To trick anyone that went snooping around?

I peered at one filing cabinet that sat in a corner. I couldn't help but notice how the other cabinets were at least two inches from the wall, when this one lay flat against the wall. I pulled the top cabinet open. Like the one before, it was filled with blank papers. Maybe it was just... closer to the walls than others.

"There's nothing," Nina said frustrated. "Let's go to a different room -Zoe?"

"I'm over here," I told her as I closed the cabinet. It got stuck half way closed, so I had to tilt it a little to close it all the way.

I was walking back to Nina when I heard a click.

I froze than turned around, staring at the filing cabinet.

"Damn it," I heard Nina cursed. "My powers don't work anymore. Now we're locked in."

I walked back to the cabinet and looked at it closely. Nothing had changed. It still looked the same.

I pulled open the middle cabinet. I was startled when all three opened at the same time. The filing cabinet had turned into a door. A door that led straight to a flight of stairs in the dark.

"Uh, Nina," I said, backing away. "I... found something."

She came up behind me and stared at the stairs. "Should we go down there?" she said, her voice hinting that she was afraid to.

"You just said we were locked in," I said, looking at her, "so what choice do we have? Besides, I want to find _some_thing out and there's got be something down here."

She frowned slightly and then nodded.

I stepped onto the first step, turning my body a little so that I could fit perfectly through the door.

I looked back at Nina who hadn't moved. "You said you wanted to come, so come," I told her primitively. "Don't forget to close the door behind you."

I walked down as many steps I could see before she closed the door and we were both left in utter darkness.

"We can't even see where we're going," I heard her complain.

I don't know how many steps there were, but it seemed to take hours for us to actually reach the bottom.

"Next time," I told her as I felt the walls with my hands, "let's bring a flashlight."

Just then she flicked on a lightswitch and I blinked startled. The light was very dim, but at least we could see now.

"Or we turn on the lightswitch," I added.

Before us, there was a hallway, lined with doors. It looked... desolated.

"What do think is down here?" Nina asked curiously as we made our way slowly down the hall.

Each door had a sliding window at the top, big enough for a person to peer into whatever lay behind the door.

Nina went up to one and put her hand up to slide it open.

"Don't," I snapped.

"Why not?" she asked, looking at me.

"We don't know what's there," I told her. "And now isn't the time I want to know. I want to see what's behind _that_ door."

I pointed to the door that was all the way at the end of the hall. It was the only door that didn't have a sliding window.

Nina looked back the sliding window and jumped back when a loud thumping noise began from behind the door.

"Okay, I'm with you," she said quickly, coming up behind me.

The began noise spread. Whatever lay behind every door knew we were hear and they wanted out.

We practically ran to the door at the end of the hallway, trying to get away from the loud noise.

I turned the knob. It was locked. "Damn it," I snapped, pounding on the door.

I jumped, startled, as Nina screamed bloody murder.

I whipped around to see Chris, Gill and ,surprisingly, Trevon standing behind us. Chris had his hand on Nina's shoulder.

With all the pounding noise, I guess we hadn't heard them come down.

Nina was yelling in Spanish as she hit Chris repeatedly on the chest. Her hitting didn't seem to faze him. He just looked amused.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" she yelled, switching back to English as she put her hand to her heart.

"Lucky for you, we _are_ here," Chris said with a snort. He turned to look at Gill and Trevon and shook his head. "Rookies."

I rolled my eyes. "You scared the living shit out of us," I said narrowly. "Want to at least tell us how you found us?"

Chris shrugged. "We were doing our own little snooping when we saw you guys," he said carelessly. "We followed you."

"The doors were locked," I said.

"What, you don't know how to pick a lock?" he asked like I was stupid for knowing how to.

"Where's Evan?" Nina asked, looking behind all three of them, searching.

I knew _some_one was missing.

"That little pussy," Chris said. "He was too afraid to come. He thought we would get caught."

I was actually surprised that Gill hadn't stayed with him. He just seemed like he'd be a natural scaredy cat. Evan didn't.

"We've never even been down here before," Gill said thoughtfully as he looked around. "How did you even find this place?"

I shrugged.

"Having trouble?" Chris asked referring to the door.

I stepped aside. "Be my guest."

He pulled a pocket knife from his pocket and moments later, the lock popped open.

Automatic lights flashed on inside the room. This room, like the one above, was filled with filing cabinets. Taller ones. Dusty ones.

We all shuffled in, immediately going to a filing cabinet. I pulled one open and it squeeked. There were actually files in here divided by folders and the papers weren't blank. Each file had a name on it.

"I think these are files of everyone that's here," I said absently.

"I agree," Gill said, pulling out a file.

"This place has been here for years," Nina said, also pulling out a file. "This one is dated 1967."

I couldn't help but sneak a glance at Trevon, who was reading a file at the other read of the room. He looked frustrated at what he was reading.

"What is it?" I asked, coming up beside him.

"These are the people they killed," he told me tonelessly, not even looking at me.

I looked over his shoulder to peer at the file he was looking at. Brecker, Ian.

I raised my eyebrow. Brecker. That was Trevon's last name, which could mean that he was related to this guy.

He shut the file before I could continue to read.

Could the guy be his father? Or brother or something? I didn't get to see the year or anything. He very well could've been.

"Wait," I said quickly when I saw a file that he was putting back.

He glanced up at me as he handed it to me.

My heart began to race.

Kaplan, Aiken. That's what the folder tab read.

I opened the file and stared at the picture of the man.

Before I couldn't even remember what my father looked like, but now, staring into his face, I remembered. The only thing I didn't remember was his eyes being that color.

He had my eyes. Or, I guess, I had his. I couldn't see the colors that well because the photo was only medium size. But I could see the silver pupil in the middle, outlined with black. The red that swirled with glowing gold. I couldn't see the flecks of green or the orange that outlined the iris or the swirling of the colors as they moved.

I thought of all the things that this meant.

My mother had hated me for no reason all these years. My father had no right to call me a freak because of my eyes. I mean, he did had the same ones, didn't he?

This also meant that my father had been here before and had gotten out. He had, afterall, met my mother, gotten married and had me. He was only about 17 in this picture.

I studied his face. He had to have known that these people would come looking for him and end up finding my mom and me. He had to have known that if they knew the color of my eyes that they would take me, so why did he leave us? Why didn't he take us with him?

I shut the folder, not wanting to look at him anymore. He had abandoned me. Before I could accept it, but now that I knew this, I couldn't.

"These are all files of dead people," Chris said frustrated as he slammed one shut.

"How do you know if they're dead?" Nina asked confused.

"Maybe the word Terminated at the bottom," he told her he said in a duh voice.

I flipped open my father's folder again, not able to resist. There, in bold black letters, at the bottom the word terminated shot out at me.

If they thought my father was dead then why did they even bother looking for him? And why did they even think he was dead?

"Well, well, well," a voice boomed. "I guess kids will always be nosy."

My back stiffened as we all turned to look at the door that we had left wide open.

Logan stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.

All I could do was clutch my father's folder tighter and swallow.

Busted.


	11. Author's note

**Author's note:**

**I'm apologizing right now for the fact that it will take a while for my next update. We rebooted our computer and lost everything. All my files are gone. Including the ones for this story. It has depressed me, therefore, I'm in no mood to write. :(.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I would like to thank those of you that helped cheer me up - hecate0808, Percieve, justshutup and Miss Mary Lou. I must say, justshutup, that you're comment made me laugh. I was, in fact, eating a pop-tart as I was reading it. **

**Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment. I really just wanted to hurry up and update.**

I can't tell you exactly what happened. Mostly because I don't even know. One moment we were all standing there, staring at Logan, who seemed rather pleased to find us snooping through the files.

"Did you find anything interesting?" he asked, meeting each of our eyes.

And that's when I don't know what happened. I was looking back at him, standing in the doorway and then the scenery changed dramatically.

He was sitting at a desk and I was seated in a chair in front of him.

I jerked, blinking wildly, wondering what the hell had happened. And where my father's folder had gone.

"What the... how did I get here?" I asked, looking around. I would have guessed that this was his office but it was so... empty. So... plain. Nothing in the room except his deck and chairs.

"That doesn't matter," he said carelessly, waving his hand like he was brushing off what I had asked.

Didn't matter? Was he joking?

"I must say," Logan told me, folding his hands on his desk, "I am rather disappointed in all of you. I would have thought that you would have found these files earlier."

I frowned, sinking into the chair I was in. He made it seem like he wanted us to find the files.

"What... you... funny how you don't seem mad," I finally stammered out, swallowing.

He smirked and sat back. "Why would I be mad? I believe you deserve to know why you're here. Partically."

I swallowed again. "So you knew my father," I stated.

He laughed, throwing his head back. "You could say that," he said.

I gave him a confused look. What did he mean by that?

"What were his powers?" I asked sternly.

He smiled sadly like he was remembering a happy memory.

"He had many," he said.

Okay. Like that answered my question.

"Did you kidnap him too?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He came willingly," he told me.

I was a little surprised by this, considering I had assumed that they had kidnapped everyone here. How many people had come willingly?

"You know, Zoe, we're not here to hurt you," he said in such a serious voice that I just had to snort and laugh.

"That's kind of hard for me to believe," I said bluntly.

He muttered something that sounded something like, "So much like her mother."

"Did you know my mother?" I asked, my voice growing vacant.

At the mention of my mother, I didn't know whether to be cold or not. I didn't know how I should be sounding. I was curious. I was hurt. I was pissed off. But most of all, I was so lost. So confused. I felt like I didn't know anything.

Had she really hated me all these years? Had she really thought I was the one to blame for my father leaving? Had she had any idea what he could do? Is that why she made me cover my eyes, even at home? Because they reminded her of him? I had no idea what to think.

"Is that what you really want to know?" he asked boredly.

I stared into his eyes. Why couldn't I read minds?

"I have my father's eyes," I stated, deciding that it was best not to talk about my mom.

"You _had_ your father's eyes," he corrected. "In case you haven't noticed, your eyes are just brown now."

I cleared my throat. "So... what does this mean now? I mean, I'm useless. You don't need me. Why keep me?"

He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Useless?" he asked. "Why would you be useless? Who is to say that your powers are gone?"

I could feel my nostrils flare. This whole "powers" thing was pissing the crap out of me.

"What happened to my father?" I asked, changing the subject.

For a second he stared at me, a completely blank look on his face.

"He's dead," he finally said.

"He didn't die here," I said. "He escaped or something. He was here when he was a teen. I've read his file. It says that he died here, but that's impossible. He got out. Otherwise, he would have never met my mom. I wouldn't be here."

He was giving me an amused look. Almost as if we were having a funny conversation.

"I don't think you would want the details," he said.

He didn't know how badly I wanted the details. How badly I wanted to know everything. But the way he said those words made my heart stop.

"Did you kill him?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

I felt my throat close up, my eyes watering.

The amusement left his eyes, but the smile remained.

"What do you think?" he asked.

What did I think? Was he serious? Of course, I thought he killed my father. Who else would have?

"Zoe," he said, standing up, "I don't believe that your father is all that you want to talk about."

Psh. He had to be joking. All the questions that were bouncing around in my head were about my parents. Well... _most_ of the questions.

"Let's talk about your powers," he suggested.

Oh, right. My "powers".

"Where are the others?" I asked, changing the subject again. I didn't know if I even wanted to know what he had done with them. I could just picture them locked up in a cage or something or being tortured by the twisted people that were here. I could see Trevon putting up a fight. I couldn't help but wonder if he or any of them were worrying over me, but I put the thought aside. I didn't think he would.

"They're not important right now," he said, not even missing a beat.

"What did you do with them?" I asked, suddenly very worried.

He rolled his eyes, annoyed with me.  
"Kaplan, I don't think you get how special you are," he said, turning cold. "If you did, you wouldn't be worrying about your little friends."

Special? What the hell? The one and only thing that I had to even be considered "special" was gone.

"I believe that you attended Ms. Appleton's class," he said.

I raised my eyebrow. Who the hell was that?

"And I believe that you remember her mentioning that a person's power is brought out by fear or anger or some big emotion," he continued.

Oh. So that was that lady's name.

"I also assume that you realize that both times you showed your powers that you were in an emotionally unstable state," he said, leaning forward on the desk with the palms of his hands.

"Both times?" I asked, the words shooting out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. Both times? Hadn't there only been one?

He seemed a little shocked. Like he expected me to know.

"Surely you remember the man that you practically left dead," he said in disbelief.

I paled, my heart speeding up a bit. What? Practically left dead? What man?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, stunned.

He was quiet as he stood up straight, a strange look on his face.

"What man?" I pratically shouted, standing up.

Then I realized who he was talking about. Pretty much the only person he _could_ be talking about.

I gasped, putting my hand over my mouth as I shook my head.

"No," I said, backing up. "He-he-he... he just passed out. I had nothing to do with it."

My words were said quickly, my own ears not even believing them anymore.

"No," I said again, shaking my head fiercely.

"Lucky for you," he told me, "we saved him. Barely. He was almost a vegetable. Now he's just a clean slate. His powers...completely gone. All his memories... completely gone"

"I...I didn't do it," I said, sounding like a little child. "I couldn't... I wouldn't even if I could... I don't have..."

"As you realize now," he told me, "your powers are more advanced than you think."

"I don't have any powers," I said, finishing what I was going to say before. I didn't know what to believe now. My own words seemed unconvincing, especially being said out loud.

"Well, let's find that out right now," he said.

He lifted his hands, huge balls of electricity already formed around them.

I took a step back, afraid.

My thoughts raced. I didn't know what to do.

_Run_, my mind told me. _Run_.

The only thing was I had nowhere to run to.

I let out a scream as he flung the electricity towards me, my hands instinctively going up to protect myself. I flew back into the door behind me, feeling the electricity balls hit my hands, burning them. The electricity flowed through my veins. I could feel it. It was unbearable.

"Extraordinary," Logan said amazed, looking at me like he was seeing something from another planet. "Just plain extraordinary."

I shuddered, feeling the heat course through my whole body.

Before I blacked out, I could have sworn that I saw electricity travel back down my arms, to my fingertips, as if it was just waiting to be used.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: I'm sorry that it has taken me a _long_ time to update. There have been many complications. I also have no idea what you'll think of this chapter. It ended up taking a different turn than what I had expected. I would _really_ like to know what you think of it, whether it be good or bad.**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_Do you really want people to know how much of a freak you are?"-_

_"You, my darling, have been a mystery to me for eleven years"-_

_"Next time, don't thank me and think before you come in here"-_

_"The bases of your powers come from within you"-_

_"Are you afraid now... you're a bad liar"-_

_"You're a special one, puppet. I can smell it on you"-_

_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

I jerked up, my head instantly pounding and feeling too heavy for my shoulders. I reached for my head, scrunching my hair into my fist.

"You okay?"

I turned to see Nina on a cot besides me. On the cot beside her lay Gill, sleeping.

That's when I realized that I wasn't in my room. The room I was in was filled with cots, six against each wall. That's all that was in them. Those twelve cots. Well, besides the door to my right, that was barred at the top.

"Yeah," I said, my voice coming out more of a breath.

"What did Logan do to you?" she asked, coming to sit beside me on the edge of my bed.

I rubbed my head as it came back to me.

"I... I'm not sure," I said, frowning.

I looked at my fingertips. They looked normal and besides the pounding headache, I felt fine.

"What were you dreaming about?" she asked curiously.

"Um.. I don't know..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Where's Trevon... and Chris?"

She shrugged, her face tightening for a second. "I have no idea," she said. "The last time I saw them was when we were in that room all together."

"What, is this punishment or something?" I muttered, taking another look around. "I'm guessing Logan talked to you too?"

She shook her head. "I opened my eyes and I was here. They brought you in about a half an hour or so later."

"Did you see anyone you knew in... those files?" I asked, not sure if I should be asking her.

"No," she said slowly, looking at me suspiciously.

I sighed.

I heard Gill sigh too and turn towards us. "What do you think they're going to do to us?" he asked, his face not even hinting towards the fear that I knew he was feeling.

"Well," I said, running a hand through my hair, grimacing at how greasy it felt, "if they were going to kill us, I think they would have done it by now."

I saw the corner of his mouth flinch downward.

"How about you, Gill?" I asked, tilting my head. "Did you recognize anyone in those files?"

He nodded, sadly.

I was actually surprised. Here I thought I was going to be the odd one out or something.

"My cousin, Bella," he said, frowning. "I wasn't that close to her and last I knew she was in college. I guess that's not true."

"Who did you recognize?" Nina asked curiously.

I swallowed. "My... father."

She raised an eyebrow.

Just then, the door opened and we all turned to face it.

It was Jane.

"Where's Chris and Trevon?" Nina asked, jumping to her feet.

"They're perfectly fine," she said, clasping her hands together.

The look on her face told us nothing. For all we knew, they could be dead. Why else wouldn't they be with us?

"Now," Jane said with a clap, "because of your juvenile behavior, you're all going to have to follow stricter rules and have your privileges limited."

"Since when did we have _priviliges_?" Nina asked with disgust.

"Your rooms, for starters," Jane said coldly. "You'll now have to live in a dormitory."

"What 's that mean?" Gill asked curiously as he stood slowly.

"Two per room, shared restrooms and shared dining areas," Jane said, sounding like she had said this millions of times.

"So... you're not going to kill us?" Gill asked relieved.

Jane smirked. "Not yet."

Relief fell off his expression.

"Where are these dormitories at?" Nina asked, crossing her arms.

"Follow me," she said, turning and walking out the door.

Inside, I groaned.

With my pounding head, the last thing I wanted to do was follow her, but I didn't really think I had a choice. So with an exchanged glance with Gill and Nina, we all followed Jane.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The dormitories consisted of seven hallways with one large hall down the middle and three on each side. The three hallways that went off the large hallway were lined with numbered doors. The rooms. Off of the large hallway were the bathrooms and the dining area.

If the hallways weren't so unwelcoming, it'd look like a hotel. But with the concrete floors, the wallpaper coming off and the wall covered with mold, it looked more like a prison. Which I guess is what it really was.

"This is where we put the ones that cause us trouble," Jane told us. "Well... most of the them," she added.

I couldn't help but note the silence. This place seemed... dead. I began to doubt anyone else was here. Well, until a door opened and a guy wearing a leather jacket and ripped up jeans walked out.

"Not causing trouble, are you, Jake?" Jane asked, stopping him when he was about to walk past us.

I saw the irritation flash through his eyes as he turned to her, his eyes briefly glancing at us.

"Nope," he said with a sigh. "No trouble."

"Then where, must I ask, are you going?" she asked, crossing her arms and holding her head up higher.

He met my eyes and then met hers. "I'm hungry."

The look on her face said _yeah, right_.

"When I'm done, I'm going to check in on you and if you're not in your room, you're going to be put with the dogs," she told him, then walked ahead.

I looked at the guy as we walked away. He met my eyes evenly, his light brown hair falling into his eyes, as he just stood there.

He grinned slightly as if he were saying _Welcome to Hell_.

I gave him a sloppy, unsure grin and he winked and walked away.

I turned back to Jane as I wondered what Jake's powers were and what he had done to stay here.

"This is your room, Gill," Jane said, stopping in front of a door. "You'll be sharing with Tanner."

She caught my attention for a second, for I had thought she was going to say Trevon. I bit my lip, wondering where he was. Were him and Chris together?

Nina and I exchanged a glance. I don't know why, but I had just assumed that we would share a room. Now, it didn't seem so likely.

We left Gill at the door, looking unsure about whether he wanted to go in or not.

"Now, we only have a few girls here that actually cause a few problems," Jane began to tell us. "You see, they usually prefer to stay in a bigger, nicer and cleaner room."

Nina and I looked at each other. Where was she going with this?

It wasn't until I got into my room that I understood. The room was tiny. There were two beds and two drawers. Anything else woudn't have fit. It was dark, especially since there were no windows from what I could see. At first I thought that the bed was a cot, but then I realized that it was just a really tiny bed with sheets that looked like they had been used and washed one too many times.

I sighed as Jane left to take Nina to her own room.

I sat on the bed at the far right since there was a girl sleeping in the one to the far left. With my head pounding, I didn't think I'd actually sleep, but what else was I supposed to do in here? There was... nothing. I could barely move.

"So, what'd you do?"

I jumped, startled.

The girl in the other bed sat up and turned towards me. At least... I'm pretty sure she did. I could only see with the light coming from the bottom door.

"What?" I asked, not remembering what she said.

"I said, _what did you do_?" she repeated, sounding a little irritated. "You know, like, why are you here?"

I was a little taken back by her harshness, but then I wondered how I would feel being down here for more than a day.

"We broke into their filing cabinets," I said.

I heard her snort. "They wouldn't send you down here for something stupid like that," she said as if she were suggesting that I might just be stupid. "Everyone breaks into those."

Gee, and here I thought we were special.

"They make it easy to find so you can find them," she explained. "The files are like warning signs saying that you're disposable."

I hadn't thought of it that way. Thinking of it made my head pound more.

"So, what did you really do?" she asked as I heard a rustle of sheets.

I was quiet for a second. "We tried breaking out."

"Well, that was dumb," she snapped and I heard the sheets rustle again.

If what she was saying was true, why were we down here? And where the hell was Trevon and Chris? Had they done something else?

"So, what do you do?" she asked, her voice edgey.

I licked my lips and rubbed my head. The pounding was growing louder.

"I...I'm not sure," I said, groaning.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah... I'm fi- ah!"

I felt my body jerk backwards as electricity shot out through my fingers.

"Holy shit!" she screamed.

I could suddenly see better too. Well, not better, but... perfectly.

"What the hell?" she demanded. "I didn't ask for a deminstration, dammit."

My head ache was suddenly gone and I blinked a few times, not believing it.

I flashed back to Logan's office when he had hit me with the electricity ball.

"I...I'm sorry," I said, swallowing, unsure of what had happened.

"You better be," she snapped. "You almost gave me a frickin' hard attack. If you ever do that again, I swear I'll kick your ass."

Talk about being tempermental, I thought, as my eye sight began to dim again. I guess that that was just a temporary thing.

"I... I just don't really have control of my... powers," I said kind of embarrassed.

She scoffed. "Great," she said bitterly. "Is this another form of punishment?"

It was my turn to scoff. "Listen," I said hotly, "this isn't exactly my idea of paradise and, by this I mean, sharing a room with a girl who seems to have a stick shoved far up her butt. I'm not the one that was being nosy. Did you hear me ask you why you're here? No. That's because I don't care. Now, if you'll just shut the hell up and leave me alone. I have other things to deal with."

I let out a breath.

An uneasy silence filled the room. Had she fallen asleep?

"My name's Astra," she said, breaking the silence, her voice not as hard or cold as before.

"I'm Zoe," I said still breathing hard.

"I've been told I'm hot-tempered," she told me.

"Well, believe it," I muttered.

"Let me tell _you_ something that would make a person a little bitter," she said, sitting up straighter. "I've been living down here for months. I haven't seen a glimpse of the outside world since then. And you know what sucks? I don't even have any powers."

That caught my attention.

"What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously. Was she another me?

"My brother disappeared about a year or so ago," she said, her voice softening a bit. "Everyone thought that he ran away, but I knew better. My brother and I were close. We told each other everything. I knew his future plans; I knew pretty much everything that a brother could tell his sister without being embarrassed. I even knew about his powers when no one else did. When he disappeared, I knew he had been kidnapped."

She stopped for such a long time that I thought she wasn't going to continue.

I sat there, blinking, confused until her voice picked up again.

"So I did what I did best," she said with a sigh. "I asked questions -or as you so rudely put it, I became nosy."

"How... how did you find them?" I asked, curiously.

"When people find out that you're trying to find out their business, they get mad," she told me, amusement in her voice.

"Why didn't they kill you?" I asked confused.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Just because I'm nosy doesn't mean I have the answers to everything."

"I... just... I just don't understand," I told her. "Why would they keep you alive if you have nothing to offer?"

"That makes two of us, sister," she said as I heard rustling sheets. "I'd make yourself as comfortable as possible. You're going to be down here for a while. In fact, there's a good chance they'll forget about you. 'Night."

Her abrupt end to our little conversation surprised me. Then again, so did all the things she decided to spill out to me. Now I had to deal with all these questions running through my head. All this confusion.

I sighed as I leaned my back against the wall right beside my bed.

Where were Trevon and Chris? Why were they keeping this girl alive? What exactly happened to my father?

And, more importantly, what the hell was I?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I gasped awake as I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

"Nina?" I breathed, sitting up straighter, my back stiff.

I could see her face for there was a small window in the upper left corner of the room that allowed some light to enter. It must be morning.

She was pale from what I could tell. Her eyes were wide with heavy bags circling them.

"What is it?" I asked grabbing her shoulders.

"What the hell's going on?" I heard Astra snap tiredly as she sat up. "Who's this?"

"I... had a dream," Nina whispered with a swallow. "A nightmare."

I nodded once taking this in. "Well... it's okay," I said unsure. "It wasn't real."

She shook her head. "It was real," she told me, a tear slipping down her cheek.

The tear brought my attention to her eyes. They looked empty, like they weren't hers.

"Nina?" I asked, suddenly unsure as I let my hands slid off her arms.

She shook her head slowly and then her arms lashed out, clutching mine in a painful grip.

I couldn't help but let out a scream.

She leaned in close, her face barely an inch away from me.

What she said next sent chills throughout my body, but I didn't get to question her since Astra took a flashlight to the back of her head.

Her words, though, echoed in my head, making sense while, at the same time, leaving me in lost in confusion.

"They're dead," she had hissed, her breath cold on my cheek, "and they're coming for you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: It's been almost a year since I last updated. I'm really sorry about that. A lot of things have been going on. Anyways, I would really like to know what you all think of this chapter. I changed it at last minute to something completely different.**

Nina lay knocked out on my bed.

"Did you really have to hit her?" I asked Astrid, frowning a bit.

She shrugged. "She was spazing out -oh, and she was practically breaking your arms."

"What do you think she was talking about?" I asked concerned, looking down at Nina.

"Beats me," she said. "I mean, unless you actually know a few dead people."

My father flashed through my eyes.

"Then again, it could be Tammy," Astrid added.

I just stared at her confused.

"Who's Tammy?" I asked.

"Oh, Tammy can dreamwalk," Astrid explained casually as she leaned against the wall by her bed. "Sometimes, though, she gets carried away and actually manipulates a person's dream."

"But can she possess people through their dreams?" I asked.

She shrugged again.

"Can she read dreams?" I asked. Maybe this Tammy knew something that we didn't.

"Listen, chicky," Astrid said, obviously annoyed with questions, "why don't you go ask her yourself, ok? I'm tired as hell."

I just stared at her.

"Her room is down the hall to the left," she told me suddenly aggravated. "Don't worry about your little friend. I'll watch her."

I debated on whether or not I believed her. I mean, something told me that if the whole building or whatever were to catch on fire that Astrid would just leave Nina there, lying on the bed. But I also knew that there were answers that I couldn't just find without help.

"I'll be right back," I said pointedly.

Being in the hallway gave me the creeps. I felt like something from a horror movie was going to pop out and kill me. I began to wonder if that could actually happen here.

I reached the end of the hallway and faced the door to the left. Could I just knock? Would the girl be sleeping? Was this even the right room?

I lightly tapped on the door and waited.

It seemed like forever before the door opened revealing a thin, tall girl with dirty blonde hair and eyes the color of ash.

"I was really hoping that you'd come," she told me and, before I could respond, she added, "Come on in."

Curiousity got the best of me and I stepped in.

The thing about this place was... I wasn't sure who was ok to trust, but down here -wherever we were- were people that Jane and Logan seemed to have a real disliking towards. I took that as a really good sign.

Tammy's room was the same size as ours, but she had pushed both the beds together.

"Um, Tammy, right?" I asked, playing with my own fingers.

"Yeah... and you're Zoe." It wasn't a question.

"How do you-?"

"This is a big place with a lot of psychics," she told me. "It doesn't take long for word to travel fast. Besides... you've claimed that you have no powers and it ends up turning out that you have one of the most powerful gifts."

I just blinked a couple of times. How many people knew about me?

"But that's not the main reason your here," she said. "You're here about Nina and her dream."

"So it was _real_?" I asked, a shiver crawling up my spine.

"Nina doesn't have the ability to see the future or current events," Tammy told me, taking a seat on her bed. "But someone sent a message through her; a warning. Someone who has very strong powers."

"How do you know this?" I asked, incredious.

"I stumbled upon Nina's dream when it happened," she said simply, "and while she was trapped in it, I was not. It was like she was looking through the windows of her own eyes. I could see you and where she was walking, but that was it. Nina was trapped in a dream where she was you and some _things _were chasing her, followed with voices."

"So... dead people are after me?" I asked, tonelessly.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

My eyes suddenly widened with realization.

"Hey," I said, "could you walk through anyone's dream? Even if you didn't know them?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Like who's?"

"When we were brought down here, two of our friends disappeared and-"

"Trevon."

I blinked, wondering if I should even ask.

"How do you-"

"Are you kidding?" she asked as if I were ridiculous. "Trevon, the walking animal? The doctors aren't even sure what he is or if they even have all his abilities figured out."

I felt like asking more, but that wasn't my main purpose.

"So you could-"

"Yeah," she said eagerly.

Her eagerness made me unsure. Did I want some random person invading Trevon's dream? Could _I _be a part of invading Trevon's dream?

"Is there anyone that... I can come?" I asked embarrassed.

Tammy just looked at me intently.

"Have you ever connected minds with someone before?" she asked, her personality changing dramatically.

I thought of the vegetable guy and gulped.

"Once," I said, just above a whisper.

"Walking dreams isn't easy," she told me. "If you're in there too long, it can permenantly damage your mind."

I took this in. "I still want to do it. You said so yourself... I'm strong."

"Yeah, and unstable," she said bluntly as she flopped backwards on the bed so that she was lying down.

She patted the bed next to her.

I hesistated for a brief moment and then slowly took my place beside her.

"When we get to the pathway, _don't let go of my hand_," she said. "I'm your link to the dreamworld. It's _my_ power, not _yours_. If you let go, you might not be able to get back out."

Well, that was nice, I thought, panick rushing through me.

"Concentrate on me the whole time and when we get in there, think of wanting Trevon's dream."

I nodded this.

"Take my hand," she said and I did so.

Then she came closer and I almost scooted back, uncomfortable with how close we were.

Her forehead touched mine and she stared into my eyes.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Now, keep looking into my eyes and concentrate," she told me.

I did so and felt her power creeping into me. It was entoxicating, sending my blood rushing everywhere throughout my body.

But something felt wrong and I was sure she felt it too. Her eyes held confusion and fear.

I felt my eyes widened as I felt something in my mind expand and I heard her gasp... and then I was there.

In dreamworld or whatever.

And I was alone.

**Author's Note again: Sorry that it's short... I just wanted to update as soon as possible. And sorry if there are a lot of grammar errors. I didn't really check spelling that well. :()**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note again: Sorry that it's short... I just wanted to update as soon as possible. :() Sorry for any grammar errors.**

"Tammy?" I tried to call out, but my fear caused my voice to come out in a hoarse whisper.

I looked around. I couldn't imagine this being dreamworld. It was dark and gray and there was no path. At least, none that I could see. It was all foggy, though, which I guess is considered dreamlike.

I whirled around.

"Tammy?"I called again, my voice stronger.

Panick was beginning to overcome me. Where was I supposed to go? How was I supposed to get out?

I began to walk straight ahead, not really sure if there was anything else out there.

_Think of wanting Trevon's dream_, Tammy had told me.

I stopped, closed my eyes and concentrated on wanting Trevon's dream.

I opened one of eyes a crack. Nothing.

A let of a frustrated breath, closed my eyes and tried again.

I felt like I was there forever. Was time different in dreamworld?

That's when I began to hear something. I opened my eyes confused, not sure what it was.

It sounded like pitches. Floating pitches, different pitches. Some were deep and dark. Others were soft and flowing.

I looked around. Still there was nothing. Where were these pitches coming from? What were they?

Finally, I looked up and my jaw slightly dropped for I was completely fascinated.

Above me lay layers upon layers of clouds, going from the deep, scary black ones all the way to the bright, white fluffy ones. Deep purples, grays, pinks, reds, oranges and blues blended inbetween perfectly. I wished then that I had the talent of art for because I would love to have painted what I saw to perfection. And that wasn't it either. There, floating in the sky, were millions and millions of droplets. At least, that's what they looked like. They were all different colors, some bigger than the other, each sending out different pitches.

I let out a breath as I realized that these were the dreams.

I reached out towards one of the droplets -any one of the droplets really- and one floated towards me. As it came closer it expanded and I was mezmerized.

Then I realized that all of the water droplets were coming towards me, all expanding.

I gasped, backing away.

All of them buzzed, their pitches becoming louder, almost deafening. They fell upon my skin and I cried out as I absorbed all the emotions. I felt fear, happiness, guilt, disbelief -what seemed like every emotion possible and I felt them all at once. It was abdominable.

My brain began to feel like it was being shredded to pieces, each dream wanting a piece of me.

I screamed in pain as I grabbed my hair with two handfuls.

Then a hand rested on my head and slowly the pain left.

I lay on the ground, breathing hard, regaining my mind... or least I was trying to when a pair of hands yanked me up roughly.

"What the _hell_ did I _say_?" Tammy shouted, shaking me. "I told you: This is _my_ power, _not yours_. Do you _hear_ me? "

I heard everything she said but I couldn't concentrate. I was staring at her in awe. She was glowing, her skin powdery white and her blonde hair shining like glitter.

"_Zoe, do you hear me_?" she shouted, grabbing my face between her hands.

I nodded quickly, swallowing.

"W-w-what happened?" I asked.

She sighed and stood up, pulling me with her.

"I'm not quite sure," she said, still slightly angry. "It felt like... you were draining me."

"Draining you?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah," she said, looking up at the sky. "You know... like you were taking my power away from me... or something like that."

"I'm so sorry," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "I didn't mean to."

"Hey, you're just lucky I was able to piece myself back together in time to save you," she said, looking back at me. "That happened to me the first time I came here. It nearly killed me."

"What exactly happened?" I asked, glancing back at the droplets, their beauty replaces with fear and distaste. "I mean, I didn't even do anything."

"You weren't focused," she explained to me. "You didn't call a specific dream... you just wanted one -any one- so they all came and because they were all overlapping, you weren't able to walk into one, but they were able to walk into you."

"What happened to the dreams then?" I asked. "You know... when they were... in me."

"It puts the dreamer in the half-asleep state... like they're about to wake up, but don't"

I still couldn't believe how beautiful Tammy looked here. I could tell by my skin that I didn't look that way and I couldn't help but be jealous by the fact.

"So we want to call Trevon's dream," Tammy stated, looking up and extending her arm.

A part of me expected all of the dreams to come once again, but they just began to rearrange themselves as one droplet came forth.

The dream was dark and had a deep pitch. One that vibrated, sending shivers throughout my body.

"Whoa," Tammy said as the droplet floated in front of her face the size of an eyeball.

"What?" I asked, panick in my voice. "What is it?"

"Trevon's not asleep," she said.

My heart about stopped with those words. Did that mean he was dead?

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice a mere whisper.

"He _doesn't _sleep," she said, turning to me, amazed. "He must not have the need to... must be his power or something."

"Then what is this?" I asked still confused.

"It's just... him," she said, biting her lip. "It's what he's doing now. It's basically like being in his mind, looking through his eyes."

I raised an eybrow. Interesting.

She touched the droplet and hissed, pulling her finger back as if she were burned.

"What is it?" I asked concerned.

"I'm not allowed in," she said, hurt.

"What do you mean exactly?" I asked, confused again.

"Some people have mental blocks," she told me. "Picture it as someone building bricks around their mind so no one can get inside."

I looked at Trevon's droplet and reached my hand inside. It went right through.

A rush of emotions came at me and I pulled my hand back, afraid.

Tammy just looked at me with this blank expression.

"Why can I go in?" I asked.

"I don't know, just go," she said quickly. She was lying to me.

The droplet began to expand.

"But-"

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll pull you back out."

"But I-"

She shoved me inside and I stumbled in, emotions hitting me.

Well, at least I knew Trevon was alive.


	16. Chapter 16

I was inside Trevon's mind.

I saw his body jerk, and I felt his mind suddenly go on guard, settling any emotions I had felt when I first entered. It almost pushed me out.

He looked around slowly, showing me that he was in a white room. There didn't even seem to be a door.

He stood up. "Who's there?"

The fact that he could feel me there caught me off guard. I almost let myself be pushed out.

I tried yelling at him to let him know that I was here. Nothing happened. I didn't understand. I suddenly had the sense that this was pointless, but at least I knew he was alive. I guess.

Instead, I searched his mind. Or tried to. It was like Tammy said, bricks were built up everywhere. All I could feel was his caution.

"I can feel you there," he said.

Suddenly, I felt on guard. Like the time he caught me snooping in his room. Except now it was like I was snooping through his mind, and I can't imagine he would be any happier about that.

"Zoe?" he asked, shocked his guard flattering as relief filled his voice.

I was taken back. Then I realized I was in his mind. Of course, I could send him images.

I sent him an image of myself when I was staring into my reflection, checking out my brown eyes.

He stood up abruptly. "What the hell… where are you?"

I sent him a flash of the hallways, of the room where I was staying.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice suddenly louder. "Are you hurt?"

His was speaking with his mind now, as he settled back onto the floor.

Not being able to stop myself from thinking about it, I replayed the moment where Logan shot me with the electricity, then when Nina attacked me in her sleep.

I could feel his walls ease a little. I sent him an image of himself, hoping he would get that I wanted to know how he was. His mind tensed back up.

"I'm fine," he told me. Chris? "He's fine, too. Last I saw anyway."

I sent him an exit sign. "No," he said. "There's no way out from here. I've already tried. It's like an electric fence, if I apply any physical force against the walls."

Truly, from here, I didn't know what to send him. I wanted to SEE him, so I could see for myself that he really was okay.

There was a swishing noise, and his head turned towards his left. There was Logan, with three men behind him. The men were dressed like doctors. One was dressed in blue while the others were dressed in white. Logan wore a suit.

"Why, hello, there, Mr. Brecker," Logan said cheerfully, placing his palms together with a downward clap. "Hope you didn't think we forgot about you."

I could feel Trevon smirk. "I've been told I'm unforgettable."

"Right," Logan said, gesturing to the guys dressed in white. They strolled in a metal table. "I can make this easy for you, Brecker, or I can make this very hard for you."

Trevon didn't move. He didn't respond. He just sat there and stared.

Logan looked mad.

I suddenly felt like Trevon was trying to push me out. I'm not sure why. If he knew what was going to happen, or if he was hiding something, I'm not sure. But I didn't want to leave, so I fought to stay.

"Tell me where Elizabeth James is," Logan demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Trevon said dryly.

Who was Elizabeth James?

"Don't play games with me, boy," Logan spat, holding his palm up, slamming Trevon's body against the wall." You're the only one that's been able to successfully get into Zoe's mind and back out again. You had to have seen _something_."

It was getting harder to stay in Trevon's mind. It was like I could literally feel him try to shove me out. But I was intrigued. I _had_to know what was going on. They were talking about _me_. And who was Elizabeth James?

"I don't know what you're talking about," Trevon repeated, his voice strained.

All the sudden, he was slammed onto his back, placed atop the metal table. Straps came up, and tied themselves.

Logan leaned down. "I love doing things the hard way," he said, smiling coldly.

Then he was out of sight.

A different face replaced his. The man in blue. He was old. His hair was heavily peppered, and his face was all wrinkled. Had he not been smiling so happily while holding a giant needle, I would have said he looked like the average grandfather type.

"This here is to keep you awake during this whole process," he said, like he was talking to a child.

That voice. It sounded so familiar. HE felt so familiar. If only I could place it…

"You're wasting your time," Trevon said. But there was a quiver in his voice. I seriously doubted that Trevon was afraid to take a beating. It was something else.

I felt myself fill with worry.

"Zoe, _leave_." It was a message only meant for me, and I felt him shove me more forcefully.

I refused to leave him there. Whatever was going to happen to him, I knew it would be bad. I also felt that he was hiding something from me. Whatever it was that he didn't want Logan to know, he didn't want me to know either. And I had a strong feeling that it was about me. I never realized that what Logan said was true. That Trevon was the only one that had been in my mind.

What had he seen there? Was there a part of me that knew who this Elizabeth James was? Was there a hole in my mind or something? The name didn't even sound familiar –how would I know her?

The man in blue appeared again, holding a blade.

"I'd love to tell you that this isn't going to hurt, but" –he broke off with a chuckle—" I _do_ hate lying."

The blade came down in a slow motion towards Trevon's head. Just as the blade touched the area above his third eye, I was shoved out so forcefully, that when I awoke in Tammy's room, I flew off the bed with a gasp.

"Whoa, whoa," I heard Tammy say.

I sat up, having fallen on the floor. I was sweating and gasping for breath.

"You're not supposed to just snap back like that," Tammy scolded, reaching to help me onto the bed.

"He… he pushed me out," I said, heaving.

"Well, what happened besides that?" Tammy said, sounding annoyed.

I took some deep breaths, before answering. "Trevon saw something in my mind," I told her. "Something that he doesn't want me to know about because apparently, even though it's my mind, I have no idea what it is. Whatever it is, Logan wants to know pretty badly."

She nodded, taking this in.

"I want you to go into my mind," I told her.

She looked like I had slapped her. "Listen," she said, backing away from me. "I'm not as powerful as you think I am. And, like I told you before, I've heard things about you. I'm not going to end up brain dead just so _you_ can find some answers. Eff that."

"Please!" I begged, getting onto my knees, and grabbing her hand. She jerked away, getting off the bed. "Whatever it is, it's really important."

"Zoe," she said, calming," clearly, somebody put a powerful block on your mind, whether it was you unintentionally or somebody else, but whoever it was, they must've had a damn good reason. And I don't meddle with that kind of stuff."

"Tammy, you're the only one that can—"

"Uhhh, no no," she said, shaking her finger at me," _Trevon_ is the only one that can."

I sighed, sagging my body, feeling defeated.

Tammy grabbed me lightly by the shoulders, causing me to meet her eyes. "Zoe, _you_ can figure out what's missing from your mind. You have the power to do that. It's _your_ mind. Just _think_. Play back your memories. What's the earliest thing you remember?"

Confused, but intent, I tried to think back. I remembered my childhood, my father, my mother. I remembered the apartment we used to live in, my favorite toys. To my knowledge, there was nothing missing.

"I don't get what I'm trying to do here," I told her, frustrated. "What's remembering my earliest memory got to do with anything?"

"Because you need to determine whether someone just erased your memories or fabricated some," she said.

"What if I don't have any fabricated memories?" I asked." What if I'm just missing some?"

She shook her head slowly. "I don't know," she said. "I just have a feeling that it's more than just some missing memories."

Whatever response I had at the tip of my tongue, I knew, was pointless. How could I argue with a psychic?


	17. Chapter 17

It's a terrible thing, not knowing what is going on in your own mind.

Shortly after being kicked out of Trevon's mind, I was kicked out of Tammy's room. I sat beside my bed, as Nina lay in it, still unconscious. Astrid snored softly.

Over and over, I replayed memories after memories, trying to find something that did not fit. I thought of the folder I had found of my father. He had my eyes, but before that file, I don't have any memory of seeing his eyes like that…

And that's when I thought of something confusing. Logan knew my mother. How was that possible? He even said I was just like her. I thought of my mother, so full of hate. Thinking about this irked me. It was like forgetting something important and not having the slightest idea what it was.

I pressed my palms hard against my eyes, willing something –_any_thing—to come to me. And then I was sucked in. At least that's the best way to describe it…

"…_I love you. You know that, don't you? Then _trust_ me. _Please_, trust me."It was my father's voice, but at the same time, it sounded nothing like him._

_There was crying. "Daddy?" I pushed the door open a crack, seeing my father holding a woman in his arms. _

_He looked at me. "Go back to bed, Ari."_

I opened my eyes with a gasp. My head was pounding, and I felt like I had literally been hit by a truck.

I hadn't seen who my father was holding. His body had covered hers completely. Possibly my mother. But Ari? Why had he called me Ari?

"Zoe?"

I looked up at Nina. "Go back to bed, Nina."

"How did I get here?"

"Just go back to bed," I said, climbing in next to her. "Just go back to bed."

My head hurt even more the next day. Like my body was punishing me for seeing something it shouldn't have.

Nina, Astrid and I sat in the dining area. No one had come down to wake us or even check up on us. Maybe Astrid was right. Maybe they would just forget about us.

First, we replayed the night to Nina.

"Wait, wait wait," Nina said, before I could start in. "So she hit me over the _head _with a _flash_light? Was that seriously necessary?"

"Nina," I snapped. "That's not even important right now. Astrid was just doing what was best."

"It's As_tra_," Astra snapped.

Oh. Oops.

"Whatever," I said, annoyed. "This isn't even important. What is important is figuring out what the hell is going on. Do you remember much about your dream, Nina?"

"Well, maybe I would remember if I hadn't been hit over the damn head with a damn flashlight."

Astra rolled her eyes. "Clearly, you're functioning just fine."

I groaned, and then filled them in on the rest of the night, from going into Trevon's mind to remembering a fragrant of a missing memory.

"Hmm, Ari, huh?" Astra said, stroking her chin.

"Elizabeth James?" Nina said, intensity shining in her eyes. "Man, that name sounds so familiar…"

I raised my eyebrows at both of them.

"Maybe it was a nickname?" Astra suggested.

"Or maybe it was your real name," Nina countered. "Remember when you were introducing yourself? You started to say your name with an A, but quickly changed it. Maybe a small part of you remembered."

I soaked that in. I vaguely remembered.

"Okay, let's say that's true," I said. "Who is Elizabeth James? Why would I know her, and why would she be important?"

"Maybe she's the one that blocked your memories," Nina offered.

I groaned, letting my head fall into the palms of my hands. This was just causing the pain to worsen.

"So, how come you've never just… escaped from here?" Nina asked, suddenly interested in Astra.

"Because _down here_ isn't like _up there_," Astra stated bluntly. "The security isn't just against powers –more like anything with a heartbeat."

"Down here?" I asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"We're underground."

I raised my eyebrows at Nina. We never went down some stairs or anything.

I rubbed my eyes. The lines between what was important and what was not were getting blurred.

"Let's just focus on one thing at a time," Nina said. "Wait –where is Gill?"

"Probably sleeping in," I said, exasperated.

"Well, we obviously have no way of finding out who that Elizabeth James chick is," Astra said, ignoring our little detour of conversation, "so we really just need to focus on your memories."

"I really can't remember anything right now," I said, kind of feeling grumpy. "My head feels like it's been crushed by bricks."

"Great, then we're going fucking nowhere."

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Lying in bed that night, I felt completely hopeless.

"Down here" there was no way to find out any information. Without Tammy willing to help me that is. The only thing really down here was a TV without cable, lots of VCR tapes, a pinball machine, a pool table and some books. How everyone here hadn't gone crazy yet, I have no clue, especially since most of them just stayed in their rooms.

I attempted to read, but my mind was already a jumbled mess, so I couldn't concentrate.

The only thing to do was sleep, I thought, as I let my eyes drift closed…

…I was standing in a white room. I looked around slowly, not able to tell where it began or where it ended.

"Hello?" I called out.

"_Zoe_."

It was more of a hiss rather than a whisper. Either way, it had been spinning, searching for the source.

"_Whoops_." Laughter. "_I mean, _Ari."

"Who are you?"

More laughter.

"_You would forget me_," the voice said. "_After all… how great would I be if you didn't_?"

"You took away my memories," I said, still searching in the white void.

_Swish_ and all the white disappeared, bringing me into a whole new setting. I was in a room. Looked like a living room. A couch against one wall, a TV against the other. Actually, it looked more like a waiting room. There was nothing personal. Magazines on the table.

"Where am I?" I asked.

There was a chuckle so close to my ear that I jumped forward with a gasp.

Behind me was someone familiar.

"You," I said, taken back.

He grinned. His eyes gleamed.

"Hello…_Ari_," he said, folding his hands together. "Looks like you have some explaining to do."

"_Me?_" I asked, even more taken back."Who _are_ you?"

His smile widened. Then he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes.

I took a step back, suddenly cautious.

"Still as special as ever, my little puppet."

He was the man in blue from Trevon's mind, except now he was wearing a suit.

He was also holding out his hand for me to take.

I stared at it. _This_ man took away my memories? The man working for _Logan_? The man who, last I had seen, was about to _torture_ Trevon?

His smile suddenly disappeared. "Take it, Arielle. Take it before it's too late."

I shook my head slowly. "How do I know you won't hurt me?"

"You don't," he said, his smile returning.

I swallowed. And took his hand.


End file.
